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v: 


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3 


HUME  AH>)  6U03JU3TW      : 

CELEBRATBD 

HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.. 

FROM  ITS 

FIRST  SETTLEMENT  TO  THE  YEAR  1780. 
ACCURATELY  AND  IMPARTIALLY  ABRIDGED. 

AND    A 

CONTINUATION  FROM  THAT  PERIOD 

TO  THE 

CORONATION  OF  GEORGE  IV.  July  19,  1821, 

EMBRACING 

A  Period  of  nearly  Two  Thousand  Years, 


BY  REV.  JOHN  ROBINSON,  D.D. 

Author  of  a  Grammar  of  History,  Archaeologia  Grseca,  Ancient  and 

Modern  History  for  the  Use  of  Schools,  and  a 

Theological  Dictionary. 


Illustrated  by  twenty -four  pages  of  Engravings* 

TOGETHER  WITH 

AN    APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

THE  SUCCESSION  OF  SOVEREIGNS—EMINENT  AND  REMARKABLE 

PERSONS   WHO   HAVE    FLOURISHED    IN    BRITAIN BATTLES  IW 

ENGLISH  HISTORY,  BY  SEA  AND  LAND,  FROM  1588  TO  1806— 
IMPROVEMENTS  AND  INVENTIONS — DISCOVERIES  AND  SETT- 
LING OF  BRITISH  COLONIES. 


HARTFORD  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  D.  F.  ROBINSON  AND  CO. 

Stereotyped  by  A.  Chandler. 


1827. 


ft  A 


JdVQATiQM  m&f* 


PREFACE 


The  following  work  claims  no  higher  merit  than 
that  of  being  a  faithful  abridgment  of  Hume  and  Smol- 
let's  Histories  of  England,  with  a  continuation  from  au- 
thentic documents  of  events  between  the  year  1760  and 
the  coronation  of  George  the  Fourth.  The  author 
hopes  that  the  whole  will  prove  useful  as  a  manual  to 
juvenile  students,  for  whom  it  is  chiefly  designed. 

The  necessity  of  acquiring  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  our  own  country,  and  of  public  events  in  which  Great 
Britain  has  participated,  is  so  obvious,  as  to  render  it 
unnecessary  to  prove,  that  the  history  of  their  own  coun- 
try is  a  study  whichfno  British  youth  of  either  sex  ought 
to  neglect. 

The  author  has  endeavoured  to  devest  himself  of  all 
party  spirit,  and,  in  recording  the  successive  facts,  he 
has  allowed  no  prejudices  of  his  own  to  intermingle^ 
with  the  narration.  Truth,  and  the  principl^pf  rfie 
British  constitution,  have  been  the  standards  by  which 
his  labours  and  sentiments  have  uniformly  been  guided. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Hume  having  obtained  an  unri- 
valled degree  of  literary  precedency,  and  that  of  Dr. 
Smollet  having  been  generally  recognised  as  a  worthy 
continuation  from  the  Revolution  to  the  demise  of 
George  II.,  it  is  reasonable  that  a  succinct  compression 
of  these  standard  national  works  should  be  preferred  to 
all  others  for  purposes  of  education.  But  the  design 
would  have  been  incomplete  without  a  continuation  to 

541 197 


the  present  age  ;  and,  though  the  author  is  aware  of  the 
delicate  responsibility  of  becoming  a  contemporary  histo- 
rian, yet,  as  the  duty  became  necessary,  he  has  endea- 
voured to  perform  it  with  care  and  fidelity. 

The  tables  and  facts  contained  in  the  Appendix 
form  new  features  of  such  a  work  as  the  present ;  but 
they  furnish  data,  from  which  the  student  will  be  able  to 
draw  many  valuable  conclusions,  and  will  tend  to  illus- 
trate and  corroborate  many  details  in  the  text  of  the 
History. 


THE 

HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


CHAP.  I. 

The  Britons — Romans — Saxons — The  Heptarchy. 

All  ancient  writers  agree  in  representing  the  first  in- 
habitants of  Britain  as  a  tribe  of  the  Gauls  or  Celts,  who 
peopled  that  island  from  the  neighbouring  continent.  Their 
language  was  the  same — their  manners,  their  government, 
their  superstition ;  varied  only  by  those  small  differences, 
which  time,  or  a  communication  with  the  bordering  na- 
tions, must  necessarily  introduce.  The  inhabitants  of 
Gaul,  especially  in  those  parts  which  lie  contiguous  to 
Italy,  had  acquired,  from  a  commerce  with  their  southern 
neighbours,  some  refinement  in  the  arts,  which  graduallv 
diffused  themselves  northward,  and  spread  only  a  very 
faint  light  over  this  island.  The  Greek  and  Roman  navi- 
gators or  merchants,  gave  the  most  shocking  accounts  of 
the  ferocity  of  the  people,  which  they  magnified,  as  usual, 
in  order  to  excite  the  admiration  of  their  countrymen. 
However,  the  south-east  parts  of  Britain  had  already,  be- 
fore the  age  of  Caesar,  made  the  first  and  most  requisite 
step  towards  a  civil  settlement ;  and  the  Britons,  by  tillage 
and  agriculture,  had  there  increased  to  a  great  multitude. 
The  other  inhabitants  of  the  island  still  maintained  them- 
selves by  pasture.  They  were  clothed  with  the  skins  of 
beasts.  They  dwelt  in  huts  that  they  reared  in  the  forests 
and  marshes,  with  which  the  country  was  covered.  They 
easily  removed  their  habitation,  when  actuated  either  by  the 
hopes  of  plunder,  or  the  fear  of  an  enemy.  The  conve- 
nience of  feeding  their  cattle  was  even  a  sufficient  motive 
for  removing  their  dwellings ;  and,  as  they  were  ignorant 
of  all  the  refinements  of  life,  their  wants  and  their  pos- 
sessions were  equally  limited  and  scanty. 

The  Britons  were  divided  into  many  small  nations  or 
tribes  ;  and  being  a  military  people,  whose  sole  property 


&'.  : : ,-:  **; :'  %[:msrom  6f'-england. 

was  their  arms  and  tneir  cattle,  it  was  impossible,  after 
they  had  acquired  a  relish  of  liberty,  for  their  princes  or 
chieftains  to  establish  any  despotic  authority  over  them. 
Their  governments,  though  monarchical,  were  free ;  and 
the  common  people  seem  to  have  enjoyed  even  more  liber- 
ty among  them,  than  among  the  nations  of  Gaul,  from 
whom  they  were  descended.  Each  state  was  divided  into 
factions  within  itself.  It  was  agitated  with  jealousy  or  ani- 
mosity against  the  neighbouring  states  ;  and  while  the  arts 
of  peace  were  yet  unknown,  wars  were  the  chief  occupa- 
tion, and  formed  the  chief  object  of  ambition  among  the 
people. 

The  religion  of  the  Britons  was  one  of  the  most  consi- 
derable parts  of  their  government;  and  the  Druids,  who 
were  their  priests,  possessed  great  authority.  They  en- 
joyed an  immunity  from  wars  and  taxes. K  They  possessed 
both  the  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction.  They  decided  all 
controversies  among  states,  as  well  as  among  private  per- 
sons ;  and  whoever  refused  to  submit  to  their  decree, 
was  exposed  to  the  most  severe  penalties.  Thus  the  bands 
of  government,  which  were  naturally  loose  among  that  rude 
and  turbulent  people,  were  happily  corroborated  by  the 
terrors  of  their  superstition.  No  species  of  superstition  was 
ever  more  terrible  than  that  of  the  Druids.  Besides  the 
severe  penalties  which  it  was  in  their  power  to  inflict  in 
this  world,  they  inculcated  the  eternal  transmigration  of 
souls,  and  thereby  extended  their  authority  as  far  as  the 
fears  of  their  votaries.  Human  sacrifices  were  practised 
among  them.  The  spoils  of  war  were  often  devoted  to 
their  divinities;  and  they  punished  with  the  severest  tor- 
tures those  who  dared  to  secrete  any  part  of  the  conse- 
crated offering.  These  treasures  they  kept  in  woods  and 
forests,  secured  by  no  other  guard  than  the  terrors  of  their 
religion ;  and  this  steady  conquest  over  human  cupidity, 
may  be  regarded  as  more  signal  than  their  prompting  men 
to  the  most  extraordinary  and  most  violent  efforts.  No 
idolatrous  worship  ever  attained  such  an  ascendancy  over 
mankind,  as  that  of  the  ancient  Gauls  and  Britons. 

The  Britons  had  long  remained  in  this  rude  and  inde- 
pendent state,  when  Caesar,  having  overrun  all  Gaul  by 
his  victories,  and  being  ambitious  of  carrying  the  Roman 
arms  into  a  new  world,  then  mostly  unknown,  took  advan- 
tage of  a  short  interval  in  his  Gaulic  wars,  and  invaded 


THE  BRITONS.  7 

Britain.  The  natives,  informed  of  his  intention,  were  sen- 
sible of  the  unequal  contest,  and  endeavoured  to  appease 
him  by  submissions ;  but  these  retarded  not  the  execution 
of  his  design.  After  some  resistance,  Caesar  land- 
ed, as  is  supposed,  at  Deal ;  and  having  obtained  1~  * 
several  advantages  over  the  Britons,  and  obliged 
them  to  promise  hostages  for  their  future  obedience,  he 
was  constrained,  by  the  necessity  of  his  affairs,  and  the 
approach  of  winter,  to  withdraw  his  forces  into  Gaul.  The 
Britons,  relieved  from  the  terror  of  his  arms,  neglected- 
the  performance  of  their  stipulations ;  and  that  haughty 
conqueror  resolved  next  summer  to  chastise  them  for  this 
breach  of  treaty.  He  landed  with  a  greater  force ;  and 
though  he  found  a  more  regular  resistance  from  the  Bri- 
tons, who  had  united  under  Cassivelaunus,  one  of  their 
petty  princes,  he  discomfited  them  in  every  action.  He 
advanced  into  the  country  ;  passed  the  Thames  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy  ;  took  and  burned  the  capital  of  Cassivelau- 
nus ;  established  his  ally,  Mandubratius,  in  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Trinobantes  ;  and  having  obliged  the  inhabitants  to 
make  him  new  submissions,  he  again  returned  with  his 
army  into  Gaul,  and  left  the  authority  of  the  Romans 
more  nominal  than  real  in  this  island. 

The  civil  wars  which  ensued  saved  the  Britons  from  that 
yoke  which  was  ready  to  be  imposed  upon  them.  Augus- 
tus, the  successor  of  Caesar,  content  with  the  victory  ob- 
tained over  the  liberties  of  his  own  country,  was  little  am- 
bitious of  acquiring  fame  by  foreign  wars.  Tiberius, 
zealous  of  the  fame  which  might  be  acquired  by  his  gene- 
rals, made  this  advice  of  Augustus  a  pretence  for  his  inac- 
tivity. The  mad  sallies  of  Caligula,  in  which  he  menaced 
Britain  with  an  invasion,  served  only  to  expose  himself 
and  the  empire  to  ridicule  ;  and  the  Britons,  during  almost 
a  century,  enjoyed  their  liberty  unmolested.  In  the  reign 
of  Claudius,  the  Romans  began  to  think  seriously  of  re- 
ducing them  under  their  dominion.  Without  seeking  any 
justifiable  reason  of  hostility,  they  sent  over  an  army 
under  the  command  of  Plautius,  an  able  general,  1« 
who  gained  some  victories,  and  made  a  considera- 
ble progress  in  subduing  the  inhabitants.  Claudius  him- 
self, finding  matters  sufficiently  prepared  for  his  reception, 
made  a  journey  into  Britain,  and  received  the  submission 
of  several  British  states,  the  Cantii,  Atrebates,  Regni,  and 


3  HISTORY    OP    ENGLAND. 

Trinobantes,  who  inhabited  the  south-east  parts  of  the 
island.  The  other  Britons,  under  the  command  of  Carac- 
tacus,  still  maintained  an  obstinate  resistance;  and  the 
Romans  made  little  progress  against  them,  till  Ostorius 
Scapula  was  sent  over  to  command  their  armies.     This 

general  advanced  the  Roman  conquests  over  the 
L~  '  Britons  ;  pierced  into  the  country  of  the  Silures,  a 

warlike  nation,  who  inhabited  the  banks  of  the  Se- 
vern ;  defeated  Caractacus  in  a  great  battle ;  took  him 
prisoner,  and  sent  him  to  Rome,  where  his  magnanimous 
behaviour  procured  him  better  treatment  than  the  Romans 
usually  bestowed  on  captive  princes. 

Notwithstanding  these  misfortunes,  the  spirit  of  the  Bri- 
tons was  not  subdued.  In  the  reign  of  Nero,  Suetonius 
Paulinus  was  invested  with  the  command,  and  penetrated 
into  the  island  of  Mona,  now  Anglesey,  the  chief  seat  of 
the  Druids.  He  drove  the  Britons  off  the  field,  burned 
the  Druids  in  those  fires  which  the  priests  had  prepared 
for  their  captive  enemies,  and  destroyed  all  the  consecra- 
ted groves  and  altars.  Having  thus  triumphed  over  the 
religion  of  the  Britons,  Suetonius  expected  that  his  future 
progress  would  be  easy,  in  reducing  the  people  to  subjec- 
tion. But  the  Britons,  headed  by  Boadicea,  queen  of  the 
Icena,  who  had  been  treated  in  the  most  ignominious 
manner  by  the  Roman  tribunes,  attacked  with  success 
several  settlements  of  their  insulting  conquerors.  London, 
which  was  already  a  flourishing  Roman  colony,  was  re- 
duced to  ashes ;  and  the  Romans  and  all  strangers,  to  the 
number  of  seventy  thousand,  were  massacred  by  the  exas- 
perated natives.  Their  fate,  however,  was  soon  after 
avenged  by  Suetonius,  in  a  bloody  and  decisive  battle,  in 
which  eighty  thousand  Britons  are  said  to  have  perished  ; 
and  Boadicea,  rather  than  submit  to  the  victor,  put  an  end 
to  her  life  by  poison. 

Julius  Agricola,  who  governed  Britain  in  the  reigns  of 

Vespasian,  Titus,  and  Domitian,  formed  a  regular 
^  *  plan  for  subduing  this  island,  and  rendering  the 

acquisition  useful  to  the  conquerors.  He  carried 
his  victorious  arms  northwards ;  defeated  the  Britons  in 
every  encounter;  pierced  the  furests  and  mountains  of 
Caledonia ;  and  reduced  every  state  to  subjection  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  island.  Having  fixed  a  chain  of 
forts  between  the  friths  of  Clyde  and  Forth,  he  secured 


THE  ROMANS.  9 

the  Roman  province  from  the  incursions  of  its  ferocious 
neighbours. 

During  these  military  enterprises,  Agricola  did  not  ne- 
glect the  arts  of  peace.  He  introduced  laws  and  arts 
among  the  Britons;  taught  them  to  value  the  conve- 
niences of  life ;  reconciled  them  to  the  Roman  language 
and  manners ;  instructed  them  in  letters  and  science ; 
and  endeavoured  to  render  their  chains  easy.  By  this 
conduct,  the  inhabitants  gradually  acquiesced  in  the  do- 
minion of  their  masters.         v 

To  secure  the  Roman  province  from  the  irruptions  of 
the  Caledonians,  Adrian  built  a  rampart  between  the  river 
Tyne  and  the  frith  of  Solway :  this  was  strengthened  with 
new  fortifications  by  Severus ;  and  during  the  reigns  of 
the  other  Roman  emperors,  such  a  profound  tranquility 
prevailed  in  Britain,  that  little  mention  is  made  of  the 
affairs  of  that  island  by  any  historian.  The  natives,  dis- 
armed, dispirited,  and  submissive,  had  lost  even  the  idea 
of  their  former  independence. 

But  the  Roman  empire,  which  had  diffused  slavery  and 
oppression,  together  with  a  knowledge  of  the  arts,  over  a 
considerable  part  of  the  globe,  approached  its  dissolution. 
Italy,  and  the  centre  of  the  empire,  removed,  during  so 
many  ages,  from  all  concern  in  the  wars,  had  entirely  lost 
its  military  spirit,  and  were  peopled  by  an  enervated  race, 
equally  ready  to  submit  to  a  foreign  yoke,  or  to  the  ty- 
ranny of  their  own  rulers.  The  northern  barbarians  assail- 
ed all  the  frontiers1  of  the  Roman  empire.  Instead  of  arm- 
ing the  people  in  their  own  defence,  the  emperors  recalled 
all  the  distant  legions,  in  whom  alone  they  could  repose 
confidence.  Britain  being  a  remote  province,  and  not  much 
valued  by  the  Romans,  the  legions  that  defended  it  were 
employed  in  the  protection  of  Italy  and  Gaul ;  and  that 
island,  secured  by  the  sea  against  the  inroads  of  the  greater 
tribes  of  barbarians,  found  enemies  on  its  frontiers,  ready 
to  take  advantage  of  its  defenceless  situation.  The  Picts, 
who  were  a  tribe  of  the  British  race  driven  northwards  by 
the  arms  of  Agricola,  and  the  Scots,  who  were  Igupposed 
to  have  migrated  from  Ireland,  pierced  the  rampart  of 
Adrian,  no  longer  defended  by  the  Roman  arms,  and  ex- 
tended their  ravages  over  the  fairest  part  of  the  country. 
The  Romans,  reduced  to  extremities  at  home,  and  fatigued 
with  distant  expeditions,  informed  the  Britons  that  they 


10  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

must  no  longer  look  on  them  for  succour ;  exhorted  them 
to  arm  in  their  own  defence ;  and  urged  them  to  protect 
by  their  valour  their  ancient  independence.  Accordingly, 
the  Romans  took  a  final  adieu  of  Britain,  after  having  been 
masters  of  the  best  portion  of  it  nearly  four  centuries. 

The  abject  Britons  of  the  south,  unaccustomed  to  the 
perils  of  war  and  the  cares  of  civil  government, 

lip'  found  themselves  incapable  of  resisting  the  incur- 
sions of  their  fierce  and  savage  neighbours.  The 
Picts  and  Scots  now  regarded  the  whole  of  Britain  as  theii 
prey ;  and  the  ramparts  of  the  northern  wall  proved  only 
a  weak  defence  against  the  attacks  of  those  barbarians. 
The  Britons  in  vain  implored  the  assistance  of  the  Romans, 
in  an  epistle  to  iEtius  the  patrician,  which  was  inscribed, 
"  The  Groans  of  the  Britons."  The  tenor  of  the  epistle 
was  suitable  to  the  superscription:  "  The  barbarians," 
say  they,  "  on  the  one  hand  drive  us  into  the  sea,  the 
sea,  on  the  other,  throws  us  back  on  the  barbarians ;  and 
we  have  only  the  hard  choice  left  us,  of  perishing  by  the 
sword  or  by  the  waves."  The  Romans,  however,  at  this 
time  pressed  by  Attila,  the  most  terrible  enemy  that  ever 
assailed  the  empire,  were  unable  to  attend  to  the  com- 
plaints of  their  allies.  The  Britons,  reduced  to  despair, 
and  attending  only  to  the  suggestions  of  their  own  fears, 
and  to  the  counsels  of  Vortigern,  the  powerful  prince  of 
Dumnonium,  rashly  invited  the  protection  of  the  Saxons. 

The  Saxons  had  been  for  some  time  regarded  as  one 
of  the*  most  warlike  tribes  of  Germany,  and  had 
440"  become  the  terror  of  the  neighbouring  nations. 
*  They  *had  spread  themselves  from  the  northern 
parts  of  Germany,  and  had  taken  possession  of  all  the  sea- 
coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  to  Jutland.  Hengist 
and  Horsa,  two  brothers,  who  were  the  reputed  descend- 
ants of  the  god  Woden,  commanded  the  Saxons  at  this 
period.  These  leaders  easily  persuaded  their  countrymen 
to  accept  of  the  invitation  of  the  Britons,  and  to  embrace 
an  enterprise  in  which  they  might  display  their  valour  and 
gratify  their  desire  of  plunder.  They  embarked  their 
troops  in  three  vessels,  and  transported  to  the  shores  of 
Britain  sixteen  hundred  men,  who  landed  in  the  isle  of 
Thanet,  and  attacked  with  confidence  and  success  the 
uorthern  invaders. 

Hengist  and  Horsa,  perceiving,  from  their  easy  victor* 


TIIE  SAXONS.  1J 

over  the  Scots  and  Picts,  with  what  facility  they  might 
subdue  the  Britons  themselves,  determined  to  fight  and 
conquer  for  their  own  grandeur,  and  not  for  the  defence 
of  their  allies.  They  sent  intelligence  to  Saxony  of  the 
riches  and  fertility  of  Britain ;  and  their  representations 
procured  for  them  a  reinforcement  of  five  thousand  men. 
The  Saxons  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
whom  they  had  been  invited  to  resist,  and  proceeded  to 
open  hostility  against  the  English,  whom  they  had  enga- 
ged to  protect. 

The  Britons,  roused  to  indignation  against  their  treache- 
rous allies,  took  up  arms  ;  and  having  deposed  Vortigern, 
who  had  become  odious  for  his  vices,  and  for  the  bad  suc- 
cess of  his  counsels,  they  put  themselves  under  the  com- 
mand of  his  son  Vortimer.  They  ventured  to  meet  their 
perfidious  enemies,  and  though  generally  defeated,  one 
battle  was  distinguished  by  the  death  of  Horsa,  who  left 
the  sole  command  in  the  hands  of  his  brother,  Hengist. 
This  active  general,  reinforced  by  his  countrymen,  still 
advanced  to  victory  ;  and,  being  chiefly  anxious  to  spread 
the  terror  of  his  arms,  he  spared  neither  age,  sex,  nor  con- 
dition. Great  numbers  of  Britons,  to  avoid  his  cruelty 
or  avarice,  deserted  their  native  country,  and  passed  over 
to  the  continent,  where,  in  the  province  of  Armorica,  they 
were  received  by  a  people  of  the  same  language  and 
manners,  and  gave  to  the  country  the  name  of  Brittany. 

The  British  writers  say,  that  the  love  of  Vortigern  for 
Rowena,  the  daughter  of  Hengist,  was  one  cause  that 
facilitated  the  entrance  of  the  Saxons  into  this  island ; 
and  that  Vortigern,  who  had  been  restored  to  the  throne, 
accepted  of  a  banquet  from  Hengist  at  Stonehenge,  where 
three  hundred  of  his  nobility  were  treacherously  slaugh- 
tered, and  himself  detained  a  captive.  But  these  accounts 
are  not  sufficiently  corroborated. 

After  the  death  of  Vortimer,  Ambrosius  was  invested 
with  the  supreme  command  over  the  Britons,  and  united 
them  in  their  resistance  to  the  Saxons.  Hengist,  however, 
maintained  his  ground  in  Britain.  He  invited  into  this 
island  another  tribe  of  Saxons,  under  the  command  of  his 
brother  Octa,  and  of  Ebissa,  the  son  of  Octa,  whom  he 
settled  in  Northumberland  ;  and  he  founded  the  kingdom 
of  Kent,  comprehending  Kent,  Middlesex,  Essex,  and 
part  of  Surry,  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  posterity. 


12  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

The  success  of  Hengist  allured  new  swarms  from  the 
northern  coasts  of  Germany.  The  southern  Britons  gra- 
dually receded  before  the  invaders,  into  Cornwall  and 
Wales ;  and  ^Ella,  a  Saxon  chief,  founded  the  kingdom 
of  South  Saxony,  comprising  Sussex,  and  that  portion  of 
Surry  which  Hengist  had  not  occupied. 

The  kingdom  of  the  West  Saxons,  or  of  Wessex,  was 
founded  by  Cerdic,  and  his  son  Kenric,  in  Hampshire,  Dor- 
setshire, Wiltshire,  Berkshire,  and  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  but 
it  was  not  till  after  many  a  bloody  conflict,  that  these  ad- 
venturers enjoyed  in  peace  the  harvest  of  their  toils.  They 
were  opposed  by  Arthur,  prince  of  the  Silures,  whose  he- 
roic valour  suspended  the  declining  fate  of  his  country, 
and  whose  name  has  been  celebrated  by  Taliesin  and  the 
other  British  bards.  The  military  achievements  of  this 
prince  have  been  blended  with  fiction :  but  it  appears  from 
incontestible  evidence,  that  both  in  personal  and  mental 
powers  he  excelled  the  generality  of  mankind. 

Whilst  the  Saxons  thus  established  themselves  in  the 
south,  great  numbers  of  their  countrymen,  under .  several 
leaders,  landed  on  the  east  coast  of  Britain.  In  the  year 
575,  UfTa  assumed  the  title  of  king  of  the  East  Angles ; 
in  585,  Crida,  that  of  Mercia ;  and,  about  the  same  time, 
Erkenwint,  that  of  the  East  Saxons.  This  latter  kingdom 
was  dismembered  from  that  of  Kent,  and  comprehended 
Essex,  Middlesex,  and  part  of  Hertfordshire ;  that  of  the 
East  Angles,  Cambridgeshire,  Suffolk,  and  Norfolk ;  Mer- 
cia was  extended  over  all  the  middle  countries,  from  the 
banks  of  the  Severn  to  the  frontiers  of  those  two  kingdoms. 

Though  the  Saxons  had  been  settled  in  Northumberland 
soon  after  the  landing  of  Hengist,  yet  they  met  with  so 
much  opposition  from  the  inhabitants,  that  none  of  their 
princes  for  a  long  time  assumed  the  appellation  of  king. 
In  547,  Ida,  a  Saxon  prince,  who  boasted  his  descent  from 
Woden,  and  who  had  brought  other  reinforcements  from 
Germany,  subdued  all  Northumberland,  the  bishopric  of 
Durham,  and  some  of  the  south-east  counties  of  Scotland. 
About  the  same  time,  iElla,  another  Saxon  prince,  having 
conquered  Lancashire,  and  the  greater  part  of  Yorkshire, 
received  the  appellation  of  king  of  Deira.  These  two 
kingdoms  were  united  in  the  person  of  Ethelfrid,  grand- 
son of  Ida,  who  married  Acca,  the  daughter  of  ./Ella ;  and 


THE  HEPTARCHF.  13 

expelling  his  brother-in-law,  Edwin,  he  assumed  the  title 
of  king  of  Northumberland. 

Thus  was  established,  after  a  violent  contest  of  nearly  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  the  Heptarchy,  or  seven  Saxon 
kingdoms,  in  Britain ;  under  which  the  whole  southern 
part  of  the  island,  except  Wales  and  Cornwall,  in  a  great 
measure  mixed  its  inhabitants,  and  changed  its  language,  ' 
customs,  and  political  institutions.  The  Britons,  under 
the  Roman  dominion,  had  made  such  progress  in  the  arts 
and  civilization,  that  they  had  built  twenty-eight  consider- 
able cities,  besides  a  great  number  of  villages  and  country- 
seats  ;  but  the  Saxons,  by  whom  they  were  subdued,  re- 
stored the  ancient  barbarity,  and  reduced  to  the  most  ab- 
ject slavery  those  few  natives  who  were  not  either  massa- 
cred, or  expelled  their  habitations. 

After  the  Britons  were  confined  to  Cornwall  and  Wales, 
and  no  longer  disturbed  the  conquerors,  the  alliance  be- 
tween the  princes  of  the  Heptarchy  was  in  a  great  mea- 
sure dissolved.     Dissentions,  wars,  and  revolutions  among 
theniselves,  were  the  natural  consequence.     At  length, 
nearly  four  hundred  years  after  the  first  arrival  of  the 
Saxons  in  Britain,  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  Hjeptar- 
chy  were  united  in  one  great  state,  under  Egbert,  ^X^' 
whose  prudence  and  policy  effected  what  had  been 
often  in  vain  attempted.     His  territories  were  nearly  of 
the  same  extent  with  what  is  now  properly  called  Eng- 
land; and  prospects  of  peace,  security,  and  increasing 
refinement,  were  thus  afforded. 

The  Saxons  at  this  period  seem  not  to  have  much  ex- 
celled their  German  ancestors  in  arts,  civilization,  huma- 
nity, justice,  or  obedience  to  the  laws.  Christianity  had 
not  hitherto  banished  their  ignorance,  nor  softened  the 
ferocity  of  their  manners  ;  credulity  and  superstition  had 
accompanied  the  doctrines  received  through  the  corrupted 
channels  of  Rome  ;  and  the  reverence  towards  saints  and 
relicks  seemed  almost  to  have  supplanted  the  adoration 
of  the  Supreme  Being.  Monastic  observances  were  es- 
teemed more  meritorious  than  the  active  virtues  ;  the  uni- 
versal belief  in  miraculous  interpositions  superseded  the 
knowledge  of  natural  causes ;  and  bounty  to  the  church 
atoned  for  every  violence  against  society.  The  sacerdotal 
habit  was  the  only  object  of  respect.  Hence  the  nobility 
preferred  the  security  and  sloth  of  the  cloister  to  the  tumult 
2 


14  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

and  glory  of  war,  and  endowed  monasteries  of  which  they 
assumed  the  government.  Herffce  also  the  kings,  impove- 
rished by  continual  benefactions  to  the  church,  were  neither 
able  to  bestow  rewards  on  valour  or  military  services,  nor 
retained  sufficient  influence  to  support  their  government. 
Another  inconvenience  which  attended  this  corrupt  spe- 
cies of  Christianity,  was  the  superstitious  attachment  to 
Rome.  The  Saxons  were  taught  by  the  monks  a  profound 
reverence  for  the  holy'  see ;  and  kings,  abdicating  their 
crowns,  sought  a  secure  passport  to  heaven  at  the  feet  of 
the  Roman  pontiff.  The  successors  of  St.  Peter,  encou- 
raged by  the  blindness  and  submissive  disposition  of  the 
people,  advanced  every  day  in  their  encroachments  on  the 
independence  of  the  English  church.  In  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, Wilfrid,  bishop  of  Lindisferne,  the  sole  prelate  of  the 
Northumbrian  kingdom,  increased  this  subjection  by  an 
appeal  to  Rome  against  the  decisions  of  an  English  synod. 
Wilfrid  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  papal  pretensions, 
which  we  shall  find  in  the  sequel  were  carried  to  the  most 
disgraceful  heights,  and  submitted  to  with  a  patience  al- 
most incredible. 


CHAP.  II. 

From  the  Union  of  the  Kingdoms  of  the  Heptarchy  under 
Egbert,  to  the  Norman  Conquest. 
The  kingdoms  of  the  Heptarchy  appeared  to  be  firmly 

united  in  one  state  under  Egbert ;  and  this  union 
o^y*  promised  future  tranquility  to  the  inhabitants  of 

Britain.    But  these  flattering  hopes  were  soon  over- 
cast by  the  appearance  of  the  Danes.    The  emperor  Char- 
lemagne had  been  induced  to  exercise  great  severities  in 
Germany  ;  and  the  more  warlike  of  the  natives,  to  escape 
the  fury  of  his   persecutions,   had  retired  into  Jutland. 
From  that  northern  extremity  they  invaded  France,  which 
was  exposed  by  the  dissentions  of  the  posterity  of  Char- 
lemagne.    Designated  by  the  general  name  of  Normans, 
which  they  received  from  their  northern  situation,  they 
became  a  terror  to  the  maritime,  and  even  to  th^inland 
countries.    In  their  predatory  excursions  they  were  tempt- 
ed to  visit  England,  and  in  their  hostilities  made  no 
distinction  between  the  French  and  English  na-    Jg~* 
tions.     After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  on  Northum- 
berland, they  landed  on  the  isle  of  Shepey,  which  they 


EGBERT ETHELWOLF.  15 

plundered  with  impunity.  The  next  year  they  disem- 
barked in  Dorsetshire  from  thirty-five  ships,  and  were 
encountered  by  Egbert  at  Charmouth,  where  the  Danes 
were  defeated  with  great  loss.  They  afterwards  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  the  Britons  of  Cornwall,  and,  in 
conjunction  with  their  allies,  made  an  inroad  into  Devon- 
shire, where  they  were  met  at  Hingesdown  by  Egbert, 
and  overthrown  with  considerable  slaughter.  The  death 
of  Egbert,  whose  prudence  and  valour  had  rendered  him 
a  terror  to  his  enemies,  revived  the  hopes  of  the  Danes, 
and  prompted  them  to  new  efforts. 

Ethelwolf,  the  son  and  successor  of  Egbert,  pos- 
sessed neither  the  abilities  nor  the  bravery  of  his  Joq' 
father ;  he  was  better  qualified  for  a  cloister  than  a 
throne.  He  commenced  his  reign  with  resigning  to  his 
eldest  son,  Athelstan,  the  provinces  of  Essex,  Kent,  and 
Sussex.  The  domestic  dissentions  which  this  partition 
was  calculated  to  occasion,  was  prevented  by  the  terror 
excited  by  the  Danes,  whose  inroads  were  felt  through 
Hampshire,  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  and  Rent.  In  their  course 
they  carried  off  the  goods,  the  cattle,  and  even  the  wretched 
inhabitants ;  and  then  retiring  to  their  Vessels,  they  set 
sail  to  some  distant  quarter  which  was  not  prepared  for 
their  reception.  Though  often  repulsed,  and  sometimes 
defeated,  yet  they  could  not  be  expelled.  They  established 
themselves  in  the  isles  of  Thanet  and  Shepey,  whence 
they  constantly  harassed  and  ravaged  the  adjacent  coasts. 

Thp  unsettled  state  of  England  did  not  prevent  Ethel- 
wolf  fr<_  m  making  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  whither  he  car- 
ried his  fourth  and  favourite  son,  Alfred,  then  only  six 
years  of  age.  He  passed  a  twelvemonth  at  Rome,  in  ex- 
ercises of  devotion,  and  failed  not  in  liberality  to  the 
church.  In  his  return  home,  he  married  Judith,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  emperor  Charles  the  bald ;  but  on  his  landing 
in  England,  he  met  with  an  opposition  which  he  little  ex- 
pected. Athelstan,  his  eldest  son,  had  paid  the  debt  of 
nature ;  Ethelbald,  his  second,  who  had  assumed  the  go- 
vernment, formed  the  project  of  excluding  his  father  from 
a  throne,  for  which  his  weakness  and  superstition  little 
qualified  him.  Ethelwolf  yielded  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
pretensions  of  his  son :  he  retained  the  eastern,  which  were 
the  least  considerable,  and  ceded  to  Ethelbald  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  western  districts  of  the  kingdom.     Immc- 


16  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

diately  after,  he  summoned  the  states  of  the  whole  king- 
dom, and,  with  the  same  facility  of  disposition,  not  only 
granted  to  the  priesthood  a  perpetual  right  to  tithes,  but 
exempted  it  from  all  imposts  and  burdens. 

Ethelwolf  lived  only  two  years  after  conferring  this  im- 
portant grant  to  the  church.     By  his  will  he  divi- 

AgJ1  ded  England  between  his  two  eldest  sons,  Ethelbald 
and  Ethelbert ;  the  west  being  assigned  to  the  for- 
mer and  the  east  to  the  latter.  Ethelbald  was  a  profli- 
gate prince,  who  married  Judith,  his  mother-in-law,  and 
whose  reign  was  short.  His  death  united  the  whole  go- 
vernment in  the  hands  of  Ethelbert,  who  during  five  years 
reigned  with  justice  and  prudence,  and  bequeathed  the 
sceptre  to  his  brother  Ethered. 

Though  Ethered  defended  himself  with  great  bravery, 
yet,  during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  he  enjoyed  no 
AQ(>ft  tranquility  from  the  Danes,  who  landed  in  East 
Anglia,  penetrated  into  the  kingdom  of  Northum- 
berland, and  seized  the  city  of  York.  Alfred,  the  younger 
brother,  assisted  Ethered  in  all  his  enterprises  against  the 
enemy.  The  Danes  were  attacked  by  the  forces  under 
Ethered  and  Alfred ;  and  being  defeated  in  an  action, 
they  sought  shelter  within  the  walls  of  Reading.  Thence 
they  infested  the  neighbouring  country.  An  action  soon 
after  ensued  at  Aston,  in  Berkshire,  where  the  English, 
through  the  good  conduct  of  Alfred,  obtained  a  victory. 
Another  battle  was  fought  at  Basing,  where  the  Danes 
were  more  successful.  Amidst  these  disorders,  Ethered 
died  of  a  wound  which  he  had  received,  and  transferred 
his  kingdom  and  the  care  of  its  defence  to  the  illustrious 
Alfred,  who  was  then  twenty-two  3'ears  of  age. 

Alfred  gave  early  proof  of  his  abilities,  by  which,  in  the 
most  difficult  times,  he  saved  his  country  from  ruin- 

£~j"  Pope  Leo  the  Third  predicted  his  future  greatness, 
by  giving  him  the  royal  unction,  when  Alfred  was 
on  a  visit  to  the  Roman  pontiff.  Being  indulged  in  youth 
ful  pleasures,  his  education  was  much  neglected ;  but  the 
recital  of  some  Saxon  poems  awakened  his  native  genius ; 
and  he  applied  himself  with  diligence  and  success  to  the 
study  of  the  Latin  tongue.  From  these  elegant  pursuits, 
however,  he  was  early  recalled  by  the  danger  of  his  com* 
try.  Scarcely  had  he  buried  his  brother,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  take  the  field,  in  order  to  oppose  the  Danes, 


ALFRED.  17 

who  had  seized  Wilton,*  and  were  ravaging  the  surround- 
ing country,  l  He  gave  them  battle,  and  was  at  first  suc- 
cessful ;  but  pursuing  his  advantage  too  eagerly,  he  was 
oppressed  by  the  superiority  of  numbers,  and  obliged  to 
relinquish  the  field.  Alfred,  however,  was  still  formida- 
ble;  and  though  he  was  supported  only  by  the  West 
Saxons,  he  obliged  his  enemies  to  conclude  a  treaty,  in 
which  they  solemnly  swore  to  evacuate  his  territories.. 
The  oath  was  taken  and  violated  with  equal  facility ;  and 
the  Danes,  without  seeking  any  pretence,  attacked  Alfred's 
army,  which  they  routed,  and,  marching  westward,  took 
possession  of  Exeter.  Alfred  collected  new  forces,  and 
exerted  such  vigour,  that  he  fought  eight  battles  in  one 
year,  and  obliged  the  enemy  to  engage  that  they  would 
settle  in  some  part  of  England,  and  not  suffer  more  of  their 
countrymen  to  enter  the  kingdom.  Whilst  Alfred  ex- 
pected the  execution  of  this  treaty,  another  body  of  Danes 
landed  in  this  island;  and  collecting  all  the  scattered 
troops  of  their  countryiien,  they  seized  Chippenham,  and 
extended  their  ravages  over  Wiltshire. 

This  last  event  broke  the  spirits  of  the  Saxons,  and  re- 
duced them  to  despair.  They  believed  themselves  aban- 
doned by  Heaven  to  destruction.  Some  left  their  country, 
and  retired  into  Wales,  or  fled  beyond  the  sea ;  others 
submitted  to  the  conquerors,  in  hopes  of  appeasing  their 
fury  bv  a  servile  obedience ;  and  Alfred  was  obliged  to  re- 
linquisn  the  ensigns  of  royalty,  and  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
meanest  disguises,  from  the  pursuit  of  his  enemies.  He 
concealed  himself  under  the  habit  of  a  peasant,  and  for 
some  time  lived  in  the  house,  of  a  neatherd,  who  had  for- 
merly been  entrusted  with  the  care  of  his  cows.  In  this 
humiliating  situation,  it  is  said  that  the  wife  of  the  neat- 
herd, ignorant  of  the  condition  of  her  royal  guest,  and 
observing  him  one  day  busy  by  the  fire-side,  in  trimming 
his  bow  and  arrows,  desired  him  to  take  care  of  some 
cakes  which  were  toasting,  while  she  was  employed  in 
other  domestic  concerns.  However,  Alfred,  whose  thoughts 
were  differently  engaged,  forgot  the  trust ;  and  the  good 
woman,  on  her  return,  finding  her  cakes  burnt,  rated  the 
king  very  severely,  and  upbraided  him  with  neglecting 
what  he  was  ready  enough  to  eat. 

*  The  real  situation  of  Wiltcn  has  been  much  disputed. 


IS  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Alfred,  finding  that  success  had  rendered  his  enemies 
more  remiss,  collected  some  of  his  retainers.  In  the  centre 
of  a  bog,  formed  by  the  stagnated  waters  of  the  Thone  and 
Parret,  in  Somersetshire,  he  found  two  acres  of  firm 
ground,  where  he  built  a  habitation,  which  he  rendered 
secure  by  fortifications,  and  still  more  by  the  unknown  and 
inaccessible  roads  that  led  to  it.  This  place  he  called 
iEthelingay,  or  the  Isle  of  Nobles ;  and  thence  he  made 
•  frequent  and  unexpected  sallies  on  the  Danes,  who  often 
felt  the  vigour  of  his  arm,  but  knew  not  from  what  quarter 
the  blow  came.  In  this  insulated  place  he  was  informed 
that  Oddune,  earl  of  Devonshire,  had  routed  and  killed 
Hubba  the  Dane,  who  had  besieged  him  in  his  castle  of 
Kinwith,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tau ;  and  that  he 
had  got  possession  of  the  enchanted  standard,  or  reafen, 
co  called  from  containing  the  figure  of  a  raven,  which  the 
Danes  believed  to  have  been  interwoven  by  the  three  sis- 
ters of  Hinguar  and  Hubba,  with  magical  incantations, 
and  to  express  by  the  motions  of  its  wings  the  success  or 
failure  of  any  enterprise. 

When  Alfred  was  informed  of  this  successful  resistance, 
he  left  his  retreat ;  but  before  he  would  assemble  his  sub- 
jects in  arms,  he  resolved  to  inspect  the  situation  of  the 
enemy.  Under  the  disguise  of  a  harper,  he  entered  their 
camp ;  his  music  obtained  for  him  a  welcome  reception, 
and  introduced  him  into  the  tent  of  their  prince  Guthmm  ; 
and  he  was  witness  during  several  days  to  the  supine  secu- 
rity of  the  Danes,  and  their  contempt  to  the  English. 
Encouraged  by  what  he  observed,  he  sent  private  emis- 
saries to  the  most  considerable  of  his  friends,  and  sum- 
moned them  to  meet  him  with  their  followers  at  Brixton, 
on  the  borders  of  Selwood  Forest.  The  English  having 
experienced  that  submission  only  increased  the  insolence 
and  rapacity  of  their  conquerors,  repaired  to  the  place  of 
rendezvous  with  alacrity,  and  received  with  shouts  of 
transport  a  monarch  whom  they  had  fondly  loved,  and 
whom  they  had  long  concluded  to  have  been  dead.  Al- 
fred immediately  led  them  against  the  Danes,  who,  sur- 
prised to  see  an  army  of  English,  fled  after  a  faint  resis- 
tance, and  suffered  greatly  in  the  pursuit :  the  remnant 
that  escaped,  were  besieged  by  the*  victors  in  a  fortified 
camp ;  and  being  reduced  to  extremity  by  hunger,  they 
implored  the  clemency  of  Alfred,  whose  prudence  con- 


verti 
coni 


ALFRED.  19 


verted  them  from  mortal  enemies  into  faithful  friends  and 
confederates.  He  proposed  to  Guthrum  and  his  followers 
to  repeople  the  desolated  parts  of  East  Anglia  and  Nor- 
thumberland ;  but  he  required  from  them  as  a  pledge  of 
their  future  sincerity,  that  they  should  embrace  Christi- 
anity. The  Danes  complied ;  and  Guthrum  received,  as 
the  adopted  son  of  Alfred,  the  name  of  Athelstan. 

The  success  of  this  expedient  seemed  to  correspond 
with  Alfred's  hopes  :  the  greater  part  of  the  Danes  settled 
peaceably  in  their  new  quarters  ;  the  more  turbulent  pro- 
cured subsistence  by  ravaging  the  coasts  of  France ;  and 
England  enjoyed  for  some  years  a  state  of  tranquility. 
Alfred  employed  this  period  in  establishing  civil  and  mili- 
tary institutions,  and  in  providing  for  the  future  defence 
of  the  island.  He  repaired  the  ruined  cities  ;  built  castles 
and  fortresses  ;  and  established  a  regular  militia.  Sensible 
that  the  best  means  of  defending  an  island  is  by  a  navy, 
he  increased  the  shipping  of  his  kingdom  both  in  number 
and  strength,  and  trained  his  subjects  to  maritime  con- 
flicts. He  stationed  his  vessels  with  such  judgment  as 
continually  to  intercept  the  Danish  ships  either  before  or 
after  they  had  landed  their  troops  ;  and  by  this  means  he 
repelled  several  inroads  of  the  Danes. 

At  length  Hastings,  the  celebrated  Danish  chief,  having 
ravaged  all  the  provinces  of  France,  along  the  Loire  and 
the  Seine,  appeared  off  the  coast  of  Kent  with  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty  sail ;  where  the  greater  part  of  the  Dane  < 
disembarked,  and  seized  the  fort  of  Apuldore.  Hasting 
himself,  with  a  fleet  of  eighty  sail,  entered  the  Thames, 
and  fortifying  Milton  in  Rent,  spread  his  forces  over  the 
country,  and  committed  the  most  dreadful  ravages.  Al- 
fred, on  the  first  alarm  of  this  descent,  hastened  with  a 
chosen  band  to  the  defence  of  his  people  ;  and  collecting 
all  the  armed  militia,  he  appeared  in  the  field  with  a  force 
superior  to  that  of  the  enemy.  The  invaders,  instead  of 
increasing  their  spoil,  were  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  their 
fortifications.  Tired  of  this  situation,  the  Danes  at  Apul- 
dore suddenly  left  their  encampment,  and  attempted  to 
march  towards  the  Thames,  and  to  penetrate  into  the  heart 
of  the  kingdom ;  but  Alfred,  whose  vigilance  they  could 
not  escape,  encountered  and  defeated  them  at  Farnham. 
They  fled  to  their  ships,  and  escaped  to  Mersey  in  Essex, 
where  they  erected  new  works  for  their  protection.     Has- 


20  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

tings  attempted  a  similar  movement  at  the  same  time,  and 
with  the  same  success  ;  alter  leaving  Milton,  he  was  glad 
to  find  refuge  at  Bamflete,  near  the  isle  of  Canvey,  where 
he  threw  up  fortifications  for  his  defence. 

From  these  invaders  the  attention  of  Alfred  was  soon 
distracted  by  another  enemy.  Guthrum  was  now  dead  ; 
and  his  followers,  encouraged  by  the  appearance  of  so 
great  a  body  of  their  countrymen,  revolted  against  the 
authority  of  Alfred.  They  embarked  on  board  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  vessels,  and  appeared  before  Exeter, 
in  the  west  of  England.  Alfred  immediately  marched  to 
the  west,  and  suddenly  attacking  them,  defeated  them, 
and  pursued  them  to  their  ships  with  great  slaughter.  In 
another  attempt  on  the  coast  of  Sussex,  they  were  again 
repulsed,  and  some  of  their  ships  taken.  Discouraged  by 
these  difficulties,  they  embarked,  and  returned  to  their 
settlements  in  Northumberland. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Danes  in  Essex,  having  quitted 
their  retreat,  and  united  their  forces  under  the  command 
of  Hastings,  ravaged  the  inland  country.  The  English 
army  left  in  London  attacked  the  Danish  intrenchments 
at  Bamflete,  overpowered  the  garrison,  and  carried  off  the 
wife  and  two  sons  of  Hastings.  Alfred  restored  the  cap- 
tives to  the  Danish  chief,  on  condition  that  he  should  quit 
the  kingdom,  to  which  he  readily  assented. 

However,  many  of  the  Danes  refused  to  follow  Hastings. 
Great  numbers  of  them  seized  and  fortified  Shobury,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Thames  ;  and  leaving  a  garrison  there, 
they  marched  to  Boddington,  in  the  county  of  Gloucester, 
where  they  were  reinforced  by  the  Welsh,  and  erected 
fortifications  for  their  protection.  Alfred  surrounded  them 
with  his  whole  force.  After  having  endured  the  extremi- 
ties of  famine,  they  attacked  the  English,  and  a  small 
number  of  them  effected  their  escape  ;  but  most  of  them 
being  taken,  they  were  tried  at  Winchester,  and  hanged 
as  public  robbers. 

This  well-timed  severity  restored  tranquility  to  Eng- 
land, and  produced  security  to  the  government.  Not  only 
the  East-Anglian  and  Northumberland  Danes,  but  the 
Welsh,  acknowledged  the  authority  of  Alfred.  By  pru- 
dence, by  justice,  and  by  valour,  he  had  now  established 
his  sovereignty  over  all  the  southern  parts  of  the  island, 
from  the  English  channel  to  the  frontiers  of  Scotland ; 


ALFRED.  21 

wheD,  in  the  vigour  of  his  age,  and  in  the  full  possession 
of  his  faculties,  he  expired,  after  a  glorious  reign  of  twen- 
ty-nine years  and  a  half,  in  which  he  had  deservedly  at- 
tained the  appellation  of  Great,  and  the  title  of  founder 
of  the  English  monarchy. 

The  character  of  Alfred,  both  in  private  and  public  life, 
is  almost  unrivalled  in  the  annals  of  any  age  or  nation. 
His  virtues  were  so  happily  tempered  together,  and  so 
justly  blended,  that  each  prevented  the  other  from  exceed- 
ing its  proper  boundaries.  He  reconciled  the  most  enter- 
prising spirit  with  the  greatest  moderation  ;  the  most  se- 
vere justice  with  the  gentlest  lenity ;  the  highest  capacity 
and  inclination  for  science,  with  the  most  shining  talents 
for  action.  His  civil  and  his  military  virtues  are  almost 
equally  the  objects  of  our  admiration ;  and  nature,  also, 
as  if  so  bright  a  production  of  her  skill  should  be  set  in 
the  fairest  light,  had  bestowed  on  him  every  personal 
grace  and  accomplishment. 

The  martial  exploits  of  Alfred  afford  only  an  imperfect 
idea  of  his  merit.  His  civil  institutions,  many  of  which 
still  exist,  and  his  encouragement  of  the  arts  and  sciences, 
form  the  most  prominent  features  of  his  reign.  The  vio- 
lence and  rapacity  of  the  Danes  had  subverted  all  order 
throughout  England,  and  introduced  the  greatest  anarchy 
and  confusion.  To  provide  a  remedy  for  the  evils  which 
their  licentiousness  had  occasioned,  and  to  render  the 
execution  of  justice  strict  and  regular,  Alfred  divided  the 
kingdom  into  counties ;  these  he  subdivided  into  hundreds, 
and  the  hundreds  into  tithings.  Te*i»householders  formed 
a  tithing,  who  were  answerable  for  each  other's  conduct, 
and  over  whom  a  headborough  or  borsholdei*  was  appoint- 
ed to  preside.  Every  man  was  obliged  to  register  himself 
in  some  tithing ;  and  none  could  change  his  habitation 
without  a  certificate  from  the  headborough  of  the  tithing 
tp^ which  he  belonged. 

When  any  person  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime,  the  head- 
borough was  summoned  to  answer  for  him  ;  and  if  the 
headborough  was  unwilling  to  be  surety  for  his  appear- 
ance, the  criminal  was  committed  to  prison  till  his  trial. 
If  the  criminal  fled,  either  before  or  after  finding  sureties, 
the  headborough  and  tithing  were  exposed  to  the  penalties 
of  the  law.  Thirty-one  days  were  allowed  them  for  pro- 
ducing the  criminal.     If  the  time   elapsed  before  they 


I 


22  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

could  find  him,  the  headborough  and  two  other  members 
of  the  tithing  were  obliged  to  appear,  and  together  with 
three  chief  members  of  three  neighbouring  tithings,  con- 
sisting of  twelve  in  all,  swear  that  the  tithing  was  free  from 
all  privity  both  of  the  crime  and  of  the  escape  of  the  crimi- 
nal. If  the  headborough  could  not  produce  such  a  num- 
ber of  witnesses  to  their  innocence,  the  tithing  was  compel- 
led to  pay  a  fine  to  the  king.  This  institution  obliged 
every  man  carefully  to  observe  the  conduct  of  his  neigh- 
bours, and  was  a  kind  of  surety  for  their  behaviour. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  the  headborough  sum- 
moned his  tithing  to  assist  him  in  deciding  any  trivial 
difference  which  occurred  among  the  members.  In  affairs 
of  greater  moment,  or  in  controversies  between  members 
of  different  tithings,  the  cause  was  brought  before  the 
hundred,  which  consisted  of  ten  tithings,  or  one  hundred 
families,  and  which  was  regularly  assembled  once  in  four 
weeks.  In  their  method  of  decision  we  trace  the  origin 
of  juries.  Twelve  freeholders  were  chosen,  who,  together 
with  the  presiding  magistrate  of  that  division,  were  sworn 
to  administer  impartial  justice  in1  the  cause  submitted  to 
their  jurisdiction. 

The  county  court,  which  met  twice  a  year,  and  consist- 
ed of  the  freeholders  of  the  county,  was  superior  to  that 
of  the  hundred,  from  which  it  received  appeals.  The 
bishop  with  the  aldermen  presided  in  it.  The  latter  origi- 
nally possessed  both  the  civil  and  military  authority ;  but 
Alfred,  sensible  that  this  conjunction  of  power  might 
render  the  nobility  dangerous,  appointed  a  sheriff  in  each 
county,  who  was  equal  with  the  aldermen  in  his  judicial 
function,  and  whose  office  also  consisted  in  guarding  tho 
rights  of  the  crown  from  violation,  and  in  levying  the  fines. 
In  default  of  justice  in  these  courts,,  an  appeal  lay  to  the 
king  in  council ;  but  finding  that  his  time  would  be  entirely 
engrossed  in  hearing  these  appeals,  Alfred  took  care  to 
correct  the  igrtorance  or  corruption  of  inferior  magistrates, 
and  to  instruct  his  nobility  in  letters  and  laws.  To  guide 
them  in  the  administration  of  justice,  he  framed  a  code 
of  laws,  which,  though  now  lost,  long  served  as  the  basis 
of  English  jurisprudence,  and  is  generally  deemed  the 
origin  of  what  is  now  denominated  the  common  law. 

To  encourage  learning  among  his  subjects  was  no  less 
the  care  of  this  illustrious  prince.     When  he  came  to  the 


ALFRED.  23 

throne,  he  found  the  English  sunk  into  the  grossest  igno- 
rance. Alfred  himself  complains,  that  on  his  accession 
he  did  not  know  one  person,  south  of  the  Thames,  who 
could  so  much  as  interpret  the  Latin  service ;  and  very 
few  even  in  the  northern  parts  who  had  reached  that  pitch 
of  erudition.  To  supply  this  defect,  he  invited  the  most 
celebrated  scholars  from  all  parts  of  Europe ;  he  esta- 
blished schools ;  and  he  founded,  or  at  least  revived,  the 
university  of  Oxford,  which  he  endowed  with  various  privi- 
leges, revenues,  and  immunities.  He  enjoined  by  law  all 
freeholders  possessed  of  two  hides,  or  about  two  hundred 
acres  of  land,  to  send  their  children  to  school  for  instruc- 
tion ;  and  he  gave  preferment,  both  in  church  and  state, 
to  such  only  as  had  made  some  proficiency  in  knowledge. 

However,  the  most  effectual  expedient  employed  by 
Alfred  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  was  his  own 
example.  He  usually  divided  his  time  into  three  equal 
portions :  one  was  employed  in  exercise  and  the  refection 
of  his  body ;  another,  in  the  despatch  of  business ;  and 
a  third,  in  study  and  devotion.  Sensible  that  the  people 
were  incapable  of  speculative  instruction,  he  conveyed  his 
morality  by  apologues,  parables,  stories,  and  apothegms, 
couched  in  poetry.  He  translated  the  fables  of  jEsop, 
the  histories  of  Orosius  and  Bede,  and  Boethius  on  the 
consolation  of  Philosophy ;  nor  did  he  deem  it  derogatory 
from  his  high  character  of  sovereign,  legislator,  warrior  and 
politician,  thus  to  lead  the  way  in  literary  pursuits. 

This  prince  was  also  an  encourager  of  the  mechanical 
arts.  He  invited  industrious  foreigners  to  repeople  his 
country,  which  had  been  desolated  by  the  ravages  of  the 
Danes.  He  introduced  and  encouraged  manufactures ; 
he  prompted  men  of  activity  to  engage  in  navigation  and 
commerce  ;  he  appropriated  a  seventh  part  of  his  own 
revenue  to  rebuild  the  ruined  cities,  castles,  palaces,  and 
monasteries ;  and  such  was  the  impression  of  his  s'agaci- 
ty  and  virtue,  that  he  was  regarded  by  foreigners,  as  well 
as  by  his  own  subjects,  as  one  of  the  greatest  princes  that 
had  appeared  on  the  throne  of  the  world. 

Of  the  two  surviving  sons  of  Alfred  by  his  wife  Ethels- 
witha,  the  daughter  of  a  Mercian  earl,  Ethelwald 
Jqj  *  the  younger  inherited  his  father's  passion  for  let- 
ters, and  lived  a  private  life  ;  but  Edward  the  elder 
succeeded  to  the  military  talents  as  well  as  to  the  throne 


24  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

of  Alfred.  Ethelwald,  the  cousin-german  of  Edward,  and 
son  of  Ethelbert,  the  elder  brother  of  Alfred,  insisted  on 
a  title  to  the  throne  preferable  to  that  of  Edward.  Ethel- 
wald, however,  was  obliged  to  flee ;  but  connecting  his 
interests  with  those  of  the  Danes,  he  obtained  the  assist- 
ance of  those  freebooters,  and  returned.  An  action  was 
fought  near  Bury,  in  which  the  Kentish  men  vigorously 
opposed  the  Danes,  who  lost  their  bravest  leaders,  and 
among  the  rest  Ethelwald  himself.  The  reign  of  Edward 
was  an  incessant  but  successful  struggle  against  the  North- 
umbrians, the  East- Angles,  and  the  Danes.  He  gained 
two  signal  victories  at  Telmsford  and  Naidon,  compelled 
the  Danes  to  retire  into  France,  and  obliged  the  East- An- 
gles to  swear  allegiance  to  him.  After  a  turbulent  but 
successful  reign  of  twenty-four  years,  his  kingdom  de- 
volved on  Athelstan,  his  natural  son. 

The  mature  age  of  Athelstan  obtained  for  him  the  pre- 
ference over  the  legitimate  children  of  Edward; 
ro-"  and,  amidst  storms  of  civil  conflict  and  foreign 
war,  he  proved  himself  not  unworthy  of  it.  He 
crushed  Alfred,  a  powerful  nobleman,  who  had  conspired 
against  him ;  he  entered  Scotland  with  an  army,  and  ex- 
torted the  submission  of  Constantine  its  king;  he  reduced 
to  obedience  the  turbulent  Northumbrians  ;  and  he  de- 
feated with  considerable  slaughter  the  Danes  and  Welsh. 
Athelstan  was  regarded  as  an  able  and  active  prince ;  and 
the  remarkable  law  which  he  enacted,  that  a  merchant, 
who  had  made  three  long  sea  voyages,  should  be  admitted 
to  the  rank  of  thane  or  gentleman,  is  a  proof  of  great 
liberality  of  mind.  He  died  at  Gloucester,  after  a  reign 
of  sixteen  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Edmund,  his  le- 
gitimate brother. 

The  reign  of  Edmund  was  short,  and  his  death  violent. 
He  chastised  the  Northumbrians,  who  seized  every 
qii    opportunity  of  rebelling;  and  he  conquered  Cum- 
berland from  the  Britons,  and  conferred  it  on  Mal- 
colm, king  of  Scotland,  on  condition  that  he  should  do 
him  homage  for  it,  and  protect  the  north  from  the  incur- 
sions of  the  Danes.     He  perished  by  the  hand  of  Leolf, 
a  notorious  robber,  whom  he  had  sentenced  to  banishment, 
and  who  presumed  to  enter  the  royal  apartment.     The 
king,  enraged  at  this  insolence,  ordered  him  to  leave  the 
room ;  and  on  his  refusing  to  obey,  Edmund,  naturally 


US 


Edgar  and  Elfrida. 


pr 


I 


Henry  2.  scourged  at  Becket's  Tomb. 


ATHELSTAN— EDMUND— ED  RED.  25 

choleric,  seized  him  by  the  hair,  when  the  ruffian  drew  a 
dagger,  and  gave  him  a  mortal  wound. 

Edred,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Edmund,  had  no 
sooner  ascended  tke  throne,  than  he  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  oppose  the  incursions  of  the  Northum-  q ,~* 
brian  Danes,  and  to  oblige  Malcolm,  king  of  Scot- 
land, to  renew  his  homage  for  the  lands  which  he  held 
in  England.      Edred,  though  not  destitute  of  courage, 
was  an  abject  slave  to  superstition ;  and  he  abandoned  his 
consience  toDunstan,  abbot  of  Glastonbury,  who,  under  the 
appearance  of  sanctity,  veiled  the  most  violent  ambition. 

Dunstan  practised  the  most  rigid  austerity,  and  pre- 
tended to  have  frequent  conflicts  with  the  devil ;  in  one 
of  which  he  seized  the  devil  by  the  nose  with  a  pair  of 
red-hot  pincers,  and  held  him  till  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood resounded  with  his  bellowings.  Supported  by  this 
affected  character,  Dunstan  obtained  an  entire  ascendancy 
over  Edred,  and  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  treasury. 
Sensible  that  he  owed  his  advancement  to  the  austerity 
of  his  life,  he  became  a  partisan  of  the  rigid  monastic 
rules.  The  celibacy  of  priests  was  deemed  meritorious 
by  the  church  of  Rome  ;  and  the  pope  undertook  to  make 
all  the  clergy  in  the  western  world  renounce  the  privilege 
of  marrying.  In  England,  Dunstan  seconded  his  efforts, 
and  introduced  the  reformation  into  the  convents  of  Glas- 
tonbury and  Abingdon  ;  but  the  secular  clergy,  who  were 
numerous  and  rich,  defended  their  privileges  against  this 
usurpation.  During  the  ferment  occasioned  by  these  re- 
ligious controversies,  Edred  departed  this  life. 

The  children  of  Edred  being  too  young  to  bear  the 

weight  of  government,  the  throne  was  filled  by  his 
q-c"  nephew  Edwy,  who  was  adorned  with  a  graceful 

person,  and  possessed  the  most  promising  virtues. 
Contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  wisest  counsellors,  he  unfor- 
tunately married  Elgiva,  a  beautiful  princess  of  the  royal 
blood,  who  was  within  the  degrees  of  affinity  prohibited  by 
the  canon  law.  This  occasioned  the  invectives  of  the 
monks ;  and  the  king  found  reason  to  repent  his  creating 
such  dangerous  enemies.  On  the  day  of  his  coronation, 
whilst  his  nobility  were  indulging  in  riot  and  disorder, 
Edwy  retired  from  the  noisy  revelry  of  the  table,  to  taste 
the  pleasures  of  love  with  Elgiva.  Dunstan,  conjecturing 
the  reason  of  the  king's  retreat,  burst  into  the  apartment, 
3 


26  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND* 

and  with  every  opprobrious  epithet  that  could  be  applied 
to  her  sex,  thrust  the  queen  from  her  royal  consort.  To 
avenge  this  public  insult,  Edwy  accused  Dunstan  of  mal- 
versation in  the  treasury,  and  banished^him  the  kingdom. 
But  Dunstan's  party  were  not  inactive  during  his  absence : 
they  exclaimed  against  the  impiety  of  the  king  and  queen, 
and  proceeded  to  still  more  outrageous  acts  of  violence. 
Archbishop  Odo,  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  seized  the 
queen,  burned  her  face  with  a  hot  iron,  and  forcibly  car- 
ried her  into  Ireland.  Edwy,  finding  himself  unable  to 
resist,  was  obliged  to  consent  to  his  divorce.  The  un- 
happy Elgiva,  attempting  to  return  to  her  husband,  was 
seized  by  the  infernal  Odo,  who,  with  the  malice  of  a  de- 
mon, caused  her  to  be  hamstrung,  of  which  she  died  a  few 
days  after,  at  Gloucester,  in  the  sharpest  torments. 

Not  satiated  with  this  horrible  vengeance,  the  monks 
encouraged  Edgar,  the  younger  brother  of  Edwy,  to  aspire 
to  the  throne,  and  soon  put  him  in  possession  of  Mercia, 
Northumberland,  and  East-Anglia.  Dunstan  returned  to 
England,  to  assist  Edgar  and  his  party;  and,  after  Odo's 
death,  was  installed  in  the  see  of  Canterbury.  The  un- 
happy Edwy  was  excommunicated,  and  pursued  with  un- 
relenting vengeance ;  but  his  death,  which  happened  soon 
after,  freed  him  from  monkish  persecution,  and  gave  Ed- 
gar peaceable  possession  of  the  throne. 

Edgar  discovered   great  abilities  in  the  government  oj 
the  kingdom ;  and  his  reign  is  one  of  the  most  for- 
tunate in  English  history.     By  his  vigorous  prepa-   q~q* 
rations  for  war,   he  ensured  peace  ;  and  he  awed 
equally  the  foreign   and  domestic  Danes.     The  neigh- 
bouring sovereigns,  the  kings  of  Scotland,  the  princes  of 
Wales,  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  of  the  Orkneys,  and  of  Ireland, 
were  reduced  to  pay  him  submission  ;  but  the  chief  means 
by  which  he  maintained  his  authority,  was  his   assiduous 
yet  forced  respect  to  the  fanatical  and  inhuman  Dunstan 
and  his  kindred  monks. 

These  repaid  his  politic  concessions  by  the  highest 
panegyrics  ;  and  Edgar  has  been  represented  by  them  not 
«nly  as  a  consummate  statesman  and  a  great  prince,  but 
as  a  man  of  strict  virtue,  and  even  a  saint.  Nothing,  how- 
ever, could  more  fully  prove,  that  the  praises  bestowed 
on  Edgar,  with  respect  to  the  sanctity  of  his  life,  were  ex- 
aggerated and  unmerited,  than  his  immoral  and  licentious 


1-7 


EDGAR.  27 

conduct.  He  broke  into  a  convent,  carried  off  Editha,  a 
nun,  by  force,  and  even  committed  violence  on  her  per- 
son. For  this  crime,  Dunstan  required  him  merely  to 
abstain  from  wearing  his  crown  during  seven  years.  At 
Andover,  too,  Edgar,  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  nobleman,  in  whose  house  he  lodged,  unceremo- 
niously went  to  her  mother,  and  desired  that  the  young 
lady  might  pass  that  very  night  with  him.  The  mother, 
knowing  the  impetuosity  of  the  king's  temper,  pretended  a 
submission  to  his  will ;  but  she  secretly  ordered  a  waiting- 
maid,  named  Elflede,  to  steal  into  the  king's  bed,  alter  the 
company  had  retired  to  rest.  The  dawn  of  light  disco- 
vered the  deceit ;  but  Edgar,  well  pleased  with  his  com- 
panion, expressed  no  displeasure  on  account  of  the  fraud ; 
and  Elflede  became  his  favourite  mistress,  until  his  crimi- 
nal marriage  with  Elfrida. 

This  lady  was  daughter  and  heir  of  Olgar,  earl  of  De- 
vonshire, and  all  England  resounded  with  the  praises  of 
her  beauty.  The  curiosity  of  Edgar  was  excited ;  and  he 
resolved  to  marry  her,  if  he  found  her  charms  answerable 
to  the  report.  He  communicated  his  intentions  to  Athel- 
wold,  his  favourite,  whom  he  deputed  to  bring  him  an  au- 
thentic account  of  her  person.  Athelwold  found  that 
general  report  had  not  exaggerated  the  beauty  of  Elfrida ; 
and  being  smitten  with  her  charms,  he  determined  to  sa- 
crifice to  his  love  for  her  the  fidelity  which  he  owed  to  his 
master.  He  returned  to  Edgar,  and  assured  him,  that 
the  birth  and  riches  of  Elfrida  had  been  the  cause  of  the 
admiration  paid  to  her,  and  that  she  possessed  no  charms 
of  superior  lustre.  After  some  time,  he  intimated  to  the 
king,  that,  though  her  parentage  and  fortune  had  not  de- 
ceived him  with  regard  to  her  beauty,  she  would  be  an 
advantageous  match  for  him,  and  might,  by  her  birth  and 
riches,  make  him  sufficient  compensation  for  the  homeli- 
ness of  her  person.  Edgar,  pleased  with  an  opportunity 
of  establishing  his  favourite's  fortune,  forwarded  his  suc- 
cess by  a  recommendation  to  the  parents  of  Elfrida,  whose 
hand  Athelwold  soon  obtained. 

Envy,  which  ever  pursues  the  favourite  of  a  king,  spee- 
dily informed  Edgar  of  the  truth.  However,  before  he 
avenged  the  treachery  of  Athelwold,  he  resolved  to  satisfy 
himself  of  his  guilt.  He  told  him  that  he  intended  to 
visit  his  castle,  and  to  be  introduced  to  his  wife.     Athel- 


38  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

wold,  unable  to  refuse  this  honour,  revealed  the  whole 
transaction  to  Elfrida,  and  conjured  her  to  conceal  from 
Edgar  that  beauty  which  had  seduced  him  from  his  fide- 
lity. Elfrida  promised  a  compliance,  but  appeared  before 
the  king  in  all  her  charms,  and  excited  in  his  bosom  at 
once  the  passions  of  desire  and  revenge.  However,  he 
dissembled  his  emotions,  till  he  had  an  opportunity,  in 
hunting,  of  stabbing  Athelwold,  and  soon  after  publicly 
espoused  Elfrida. 

Edgar  died  after  a  reign  of  sixteen  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Edward,  whom  he  had  by  his  first  mar- 
q7-"  riage  with  the  daughter  of  earl  Ordmer.  This 
prince  was  anointed  and  crowned  by  Duustan  at 
Kingston,  and  lived  four  years  after  his  accession.  His 
death  alone  was  memorable  and  tragical.  Though  his 
step-mother  had  opposed  his  succession,  and  had  raised 
a  party  in  favour  of  her  own  son  Ethelred,  yet  Edward 
had  always  shown  her  marks  of  regard.  He  was  hunting 
one  day  near  Corfe-castle,  in  Dorsetshire,  where  Elfrida 
resided,  and  paying  her  a  visit  without  attendants,  he  pre- 
sented her  with  the  opportunity  for  which  she  had  so  long 
wished.  After  remounting  his  horse,  he  desired  some 
liquor  to  be  brought  him ;  and  whilst  he  was  holding  the 
cup  to  his  mouth,  a  servant  of  Elfrida  approached,  and 
stabbed  him  behind.  The  prince,  feeling  himself  wound- 
ed, set  spurs  to  his  horse ;  but  faint  with  the  loss  of  blood, 
he  fell  from  the  saddle,  and  his  foot  being  entangled  in 
the  stirrup,  he  was  dragged  along  until  he  expired.  His 
youth  and  innocence  obtained  for  him  the  appellation  of 
Martyr. 

Ethelred,  the  son  of  Edgar  and  Elfrida,  reaped  the  ad- 
vantage of  his  mother's  crime,  and  succeeded  to  the 
throne.     He  was  a  weak  and  irresolute  monarch,    q-^* 
and  obtained  the  appellation  of  Unready.     During 
his  reign  the  Danes  resumed  their  ravages ;  and  Ethelred 
exhibited  neither  courage  nor  ability  sufficient  to  repel  so 
formidable  an  enemy.     A  shameful  composition  was  made 
with  Sweyn,  king  of  Denmark  ;  and  the  English  monarch 
consented  to  the  disgraceful  badge  of  tribute.     Ethelred, 
desirous  of  forming  a  closer  alliance  with  the  pirates  of 
the  north,  solicited  and  received  in  marriage  Emma,  sister 
of  Richard  the  second,  duke  of  Normandy,  whose  family 
sprang  from  the  Danish  adventurer,  Rollo. 


ETHELRED.  29 

Whilst  their  sovereign  courted  the  alliance,  the  English 
groaned  beneath  the  rapacity  and  arrogance  of  the  north- 
ern invaders.     Sensible  of  the  superiority  of  these  hardy 
warriors,  the  English  princes  had  been  accustomed  to  re- 
tain in  their  pay  bodies  of  Danish  troops.    ^These  merce- 
naries, by  their  arts  and  military  character,  had  rendered 
themselves  so  agreeable  to  the  fair  sex,  that  they  debauched 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  English ;  but  what  most 
provoked  the  inhabitants  was,  that  instead  of  defending 
them  against  invaders,  they  were  always  ready  to  join  the 
foreign  foe.     This  animosity  inspired  Ethelred  with  the 
resolution  of  massacreing  the  Danes  throughout  his  do- 
minions.    Secret  orders  were  despatched  to  commence 
the  execution  every  where  the  same  day ;  and  so  well 
were  these  orders  executed,  that  the  rage  of  the 
1002     PeoP*e'  sanctioned  by  authority,  distinguished 
„      -^  not  between  innocence  and  guilt,  and  spared 
"  neither  sex  nor  age. 
This  barbarous  policy,  however,  did  not  remain  long 
unrevenged.     Sweyn  and  his  Danes,  who  wanted 
100^  only  a  pretence  for  invading  England,  appeared 
off  the  western  coast.     Exeter  first  fell  into  their 
hands,  from  the  negligence  or  treachery  of  Earl  Hough, 
a  Norman,  who  had  been  made  governor  of  that  city. 
Thence  they  extended  their  devastations  over  the  country. 
The  calamities  of  the  English  were  augmented  by  famine ; 
and  they  submitted  to  the  infamy  of  purchasing  a  nominal 
peace,  by  the  payment  of  thirty  thousand  pounds.     The 
dissentions  of  the  English  prevented  them  from  opposing 
the   Danes,  who  still  continued  their  depredations,  and 
from  whom  they  purchased  another  peace  at  the  expense 
of  forty-eight  thousand  pounds.     The  Danes,  however, 
disregarded  all  engagements,  and  extorted  new  contribu- 
tions.   The  English  nobility,  driven  to  despair,  swore  alle- 
giance to  Sweyn,  and  delivered  him  hostages  for  their 
fidelity.     Ethelred,  equally  afraid  of  the  violence  of  the 
enemy  and  the  treachery  of  his  own  subjects,  fled  into 
Normandy,  whither  he  had  sent  before  him  Emma,  and 
her  two  sons,  Alfred  and  Edward. 

The  king  had  not  been  more  than  six  weeks  in  Nor- 

mandy,   when  he  was  informed  of  the  death  of 

1014  ^weyn*     ^ne  English  prelates  and  nobles  sent  a 

deputation  into  Normandy,  and  invited  Ethelred 

3* 


30  HISTORY   OP    ENGLAND, 

to  resume  the  royal  authority.  But  on  his  return  they 
soon  perceived  that  adversity  had  not  corrected  his  errors  : 
he  displayed  the  same  incapacity,  indolence,  cowardice, 
and  credulity.  In  Canute,  the  son  and  successor  of  Sweyn, 
the  English  found  an  enemy  no  less  formidahle  than  his 
father.  After  ravaging  the  eastern  and  southern  coast, 
he  burst  into  the  counties  of  Dorset,  Wilts,  and  Somerset ; 
where  an  army  was  assembled  against  him  under  the  com- 
mand of  prince  Edmond,  the  eldest  son  of  Ethelred.  The 
English  soldiers  demanded  the  presence  of  their  sovereign ; 
and  upon  his  refusal  to  take  the  field,  they  became  dis- 
couraged, and  gradually  retired  from  the  camp.  Edmond, 
after  some  fruitless  expeditions  into  the  north,  retired  to 
London,  which  he  found  in  confusion,  from  the  death  of 
the  king,  who  had  expired,  after  an  inglorious  reign  of 
thirty-five  years.  He  left  two  sons  by  his  first  marriage, 
Edmond  who  succeeded  him,  and  Edwy  who  was  mur- 
dered by  Canute ;  and  two  more  by  his  second  marriage, 
Alfred  and  Edward,  who,  upon  the  death  of  Ethelred, 
were  conveyed  into  Normandy  by  queen  Emma. 

Edmond,  who  from  his  hardy  valour  obtained  the  sur- 
name of  Ironside,  was  inferior  in  abilities  only  to 
the  difficulties  of  the  time.  In  two  battles  he  en-  in*/* 
countered  the  Danes  with  skill  and  courage ;  but 
in  both  he  was  defeated  or  betrayed  by  the  enmity  or  per- 
fidy of  Edric,  duke  of  Mercia.  The  indefatigable  Edmond, 
however,  had  still  resources  :  he  assembled  a  new  army  at 
Gloucester,  and  was  again  prepared  to  dispute  the  field  ; 
when  the  Danish  and  English  nobility,  equally  harassed, 
obliged  their  kings  to  submit  to  a  compromise,  and  to  por- 
tion the  kingdom.  Canute  reserved  to  himself  the  northern 
part,  and  relinquished  the  southern  to  Edmond.  This 
prince  survived  the  treaty  about  a  month  ;  he  was  mur- 
dered at  Oxford  by  two  of  his  chamberlains,  accomplices 
of  Edric,  who  thereby  made  way  for  the  succession  of 
Canute  the  Dane  to  the  crown  of  England. 

Canute,  at  the  head  of  a  great  force,  was  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  the  minority  of  Alfred  and  Edward, 
the  two  sons  of  Edmond.     To  cover,  however,  his  i  qi  y 
injustice  under  plausible  pretences,  before  he  seized 
the  dominions  of  the  English  princes,  he  summoned  a 
general  assembly  of  the  states,  in  order  to  fix  the  succes- 
sion of  the  kingdom.    He  here  suborned  some  nobles 


CANUTE.  3i 

to  depose,  that,  in  the  treaty  of  Gloucester,  it  had  been 
verbally  agreed,  in  case  of  Edmond's  death,  to  name  Ca- 
nute successor  to  his  dominions,  or  tutor  to  his  children  ; 
and  this  evidence,  supported  by  the  great  power  of  Canute, 
determined  the  states  to  vest  in  him  the  government  of  the 
kingdom.  Jealous  of  the  two  princes,  he  sent  them  to  his 
ally,  the  king  of  Sweden,  whom  he  desired  to  free  him  by 
their  death  from  all  future  anxiety.  The  Swedish  monarch 
was  too  humane  to  comply  with  this  cruel  request ;  but 
afraid  of  a  quarrel  with  Canute  if  he  protected  the  young 
princes,  he  conveyed  them  to  Solomon,  king  of  Hungary. 
The  elder  died  without  issue ;  but  Edward,  the  younger, 
married  Agatha,  the  sister-in-law  of  Solomon,  and  daugh- 
ter of  the  emperor  Henry  II.,  by  whom  he  had  Edgar 
Atheling,  Margaret,  afterwards  queen  of  Scotland,  and 
Christina,  who  became  a  nun. 

Canute  no  sooner  found  himself  confirmed  on  the  throne, 
than  he  put  to  death  the  nobles  on  whose  fidelity  he  could 
not  rely ;  and  among  these  was  the  traitor  Edric,  who  had 
presumed  to  reproach  him  with  his  services.  But,  like  a 
wise  prince,  he  was  determined  that  the  English,  now  de- 
prived of  all  their  dangerous  leaders,  should  be  reconciled 
to  the  Danes  by  the  justice  and  impartiality  of  his  govern- 
ment. He  restored  the  Saxon  customs  in  the  general 
assembly  of  the  states ;  he  made  no  distinction  between 
Danes  and  English  in  the  distribution  of  justice  ;  and  the 
victors  were  graduajiv  incorporated  with  the  vanquished. 
Though  the  distance  of  Edmond's  children  was  regarded 
by  Canute  as  the  greatest  security  to  his  government,  yet 
he  dreaded  the  pretensions  of  Alfred  and  Edward,  who 
were  supported  by  their  uncle,  Richard,  duke  of  Normandy. 
To  acquire  the  friendship  of  that  prince,  he  paid  his  ad- 
dresses to  his  sister  Emma ;  and  the  widow  of  Ethelred 
consented  to  bestow  her  hand  on  the  implacable  enemy 
of  her  former  husband,  on  condition  that  the  children  of 
their  marriage  should  mount  the  English  throne. 

After  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  king  of  Sweden,  Ca- 
nute invaded  and  subdued  Norway,  of  which  he  retained 
possession  till  his  death.  At  leisure  from  war,  he  cast  his 
view  towards  that  future  existence,  which  it  is  so  natural 
for  the  human  mind,  whether  satiated  by  prosperity,  or 
disgusted  with  adversity,  to  make  the  object  of  its  atten- 
tion.    Instead,  however,  of  endeavouring  to  atone  for  the 


32  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

crimes  which  he  had  committed  by  compensation  to  the 
injured,  it  was  in  building  churches,  in  endowing  monas- 
teries, and  in  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  tnat  his  penitence 
was  displayed.  Some  of  his  courtiers  affected  to  think 
his  power  uncontrollable,  and  that  all  things  would  be 
obedient  to  his  command.  Canute,  sensible  of  their  adu- 
lation, ordered  his  chair  to  be  placed  on  the  sea  shore 
while  the  tide  was  rising ;  and  as  the  waters  approached, 
he  commanded  |hem  to  retire,  and  to  obey  the  voice  of 
him  who  was  lord  of  the  ocean.  But  when  the  sea,  still 
advancing  towards  him,  began  to  wet  his  feet,  he  turned 
to  his  courtiers,  and  remarked  to  them,  that  every  crea- 
ture in  the  universe  is  feeble  and  impotent,  compared  to 
that  Almighty  Being  in  whose  hands  are  all  the  elements 
of  nature,  and  who  can  say  to  the  ocean,  "  Thus  far  shalt 
thou  go,  and  no  farther." 

Canute  died  at  Shaftsbury,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of 
his  reign.     Of  his  two  sons  by  his  first  marriage,  Sweyn 
had  been  crowned  king  of  Norway,  and  Harold  succeeded 
his  father  on  the  English  throne  ;  and  Hardicanute,  who 
was  his  issue  by  Emma,  was  left  in  possession  of  the  king- 
dom of  Denmark. 
\"-*"     Though  Harold  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  England 
agreeably  to  the  will  of  his  father,  who  considered 
it  dangerous  to  leave  a  newly-conquered  kingdom  ,Qor 
in  the  hands  of  so  young  a  prince  as  Hardicanute ; 
yet  this  was  a  manifest  violation  dL  the  treaty  with  the 
duke  of  Normandy,  by  which  England  was  assigned  to 
the  issue  of  Canute  by  Emma.     Harold  was  favoured  by 
the  Danes,  and  Hardicanute  by  the  English.     The  death 
of  Harold,  however,  which  happened  four  years  after  his 
accession,  left  the  succession  open  to  his  brother  Hardi- 
canute.    He  expired,  little  regretted  by  his  subjects,  and 
distinguished  only  for  his  agility  in  running,  by  which  he 
had  gained  the  surname  of  Harefoot*^^ — * 

Hardicanute,  upon  his  arrival  from  the  continent,  was 
received  with  the  most  extravagant  demonstrations 
of  joy,  and  was  acknowledged  king  both  by  the  inoq 
Danes  and  the  English.     However,  he  soon  lost 
the  affections  of  the  nation  by  his  misconduct.     At  the 
nuptials  of  a  Danish  lord,  which  he  had  honoured  with 
his  presence,  Hardicanute  died ;    and  this  event  once 


Assassination  of  Edward  the  Martyr. 


Canute  reproving  his  Flatterers. 


HAROLD — HARDICANUTE — EDWARD.  33 

more  presented  to  the  English  a  favourable  opportunity  of 
shaking  off  the  Danish  yoke. 

The  descendants  of  Edmond  Ironside,  the  legitimate 
heirs  to  the  crown,  were  at  a  distance  in  Hungary ; 
and  as  all  delays  might  be  dangerous,  the  vacant  ^  fV 
throne  was  offered  to  Edward,  the  son  of  Ethelred 
and  Emma.     His  succession  might  have  been  opposed  by 
earl  Godwin,  who  had  espoused  the  daughter  of  Canute, 
and  whose  power,  alliances,  and  abilities,  gave  him  a 
great  influence ;  but  it  was  stipulated,  that  Edward  should 
marry  Editha,  the  daughter  of  Godwin.     To  this  Edward 
consented,  and  was  crowned  king  of  England. 

The  long  residence  of  Edward  in  Normandy,  had 
attached  him  to  the  natives,  who  repaired  to  his  court  in 
great  numbers,  and  who  soon  rendered  their  language, 
customs,  and  laws,  fashionable  in  the  kingdom.  Their 
influence  soon  became  disgusting  to  the  English  ;  but 
above  all,  it  excited  the  jealousy  of  Godwin.  That  pow- 
erful nobleman,  besides  being  earl  or  duke  of  Wessex, 
had  the  counties  of  Kent  and  Sussex  annexed  to  his  go- 
vernment: his  eldest  son,  Sweyn,  possessed  the  same 
authority  in  the  counties  of  Oxford,  Berks,  Gloucester,  and 
Hereford :  and  Harold,  his  second  son,  was  duke  of  East 
Anglia,  and  at  the  same  time  governor  of  Essex.  The 
king  had  indeed  married  the  daughter  of  Godwin  ;  but 
the  amiable  qualities  of  Editha  had  never  won  the  affec- 
tion of  her  husband.  It  is  even  pretended  that  Edward 
abstained  from  all  commerce  of  love  with  her ;  and  such 
a  forbearance,  though  it  obtained -for  the  prince,  from  the 
monkish  historians,  the  appellation  of  Saint  and  Confessor, 
couid  not  but  be  noticed  by  the  high-spirited  Godwin. 

However,  the  influence  of  the  Normans  was  the  popular 
pretence  for  the  disaffection  of  the  duke  of  Wessex  to  the 
king  and  his  government.  Godwin  raised  the  standard  of 
rebellion ;  but  finding  himself,  from  the  desertion  of  his 
troops,  incapable  of  opposing  his  sovereign,  he  fled  to 
Flanders.  Returning  with  a  powerful  fleet,  which  the 
earl  of  Flanders  had  permitted  him  to  prepare  in  his  har- 
bours, a  new  reconciliation  took  place,  and  the  most  ob- 
noxious of  the  Normans  were  banished. 

Godwin's  death,  which  happened  soon  after,  devolved 
his  government  of  Wessex,  Sussex,  Kent,  and  Essex,  with 
his  office  of  steward  of  the  household,  on  his  son  Harold, 


34  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

who  was  actuated  by  an  ambition  equal  to  that  of  his 
father,  and  was  superior  to  him  in  virtue  and  address. 
Edward,  who  felt  the  approach  of  age  and  infirmities,  and 
had  no  issue  himself,  began  to  think  of  appointing  a  suc- 
cessor to  his  kingdom  ;  and,  at  length,  he  fixed  his  choice 
on  his  kinsman,  William,  duke  of  Normandy. 

This  celebrated  prince  was  natural  son  of  Robert,  duke 
of  Normandy,  by  Harlotta,  daughter  of  a  tanner  in  Fa- 
laise.  The  illegitimacy  of  his  birth  had  not  prevented 
him  from  being  acknowledged  by  the  Normans  as  their 
duke ;  and  the  qualities  which  he  displayed  in  the  field 
and  the  cabinet,  encouraged  his  friends,  and  struck  terror 
into  his  enemies.  Having  established  tranquility  in  his  own 
dominions,  he  visited  England  ;  where  he  was  received  in 
a  manner  suitable  to  the  reputation  he  had  acquired,  and 
to  the  obligations  which  Edward  owed  to  his  family.  Soon 
after  his  return,  he  was  informed  of  the  king's  intentions 
in  his  favour ;  and  this  first  opened  the  mind  of  William 
to  entertain  such  ambitious  hopes.  Harold,  however, 
openly  aspired  to  the  succession  ;  and  Edward,  feeble  and 
irresolute,  was  afraid  to  declare  either  for  or  against  him. 
In  this  state  of  uncertainty,  the  king  was  surprised  by 
death,  in  the  sjxty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  his  reign.  . 

On  the  death  of  Edward,  the  last  of  the  Saxon  princes, 
Harold  ascended  the  throne  with  little  opposition  ; 
and  the  whole  nation  seemed  to  acquiesce  in  his  1  jw»/, 
elevation.     The  duke  of  Normandy,  however,  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  with  the  greatest  indignation.     No 
sooner  had  he  proclaimed  his  intention  of  attempting  the 
conquest  of  England,  than  he  found  less  difficulty  in  com- 
pleting his  levies,  than  in  rejecting  those  who  were  desi- 
rous  of  serving  under  him.      The  duke  of  Normandy 
speedily  assembled  a  fleet  of  three  thousand  vessels,  in 
which  to  transport  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  whom 
he  had  selected  from  the  numbers  that  courted  his  service. 
Among  these  were  found  the  high  names  of  the  most  illus 
trious  nobles  of  Normandy,  France,  Brittany,  and  Flan- 
ders.    To  these  bold  chieftains  William  held  up  the  spoils 
of  England  as  the  prize  of  their  valour ;  and  pointing  to 
the  opposite  shore,  he  told  them,  that  there  was  the  field 
on  which  to  erect  trophies  to  their  name,  and  fix  their  resi- 
dence.    The  Norman  armament  arrived,  without  any  ma 


HAROLD.  .  35 

terial  loss,  at  Pevensey,  in  Sussex ;  and  the  troops  were 
disembarked  without  meeting  any  obstacle.  The  duke 
himself,  as  he  leaped  on  shore,  happened  to  stumble  and 
fall ;  but  he  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  turn  the  omen 
to  his  advantage,  by  calling  aloud  that  he  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  country. 

Harold  had  just  gained  a  great  and  important  victory 
Over  the  Norwegians,  who  had  invaded  the  kingdom,  when 
he  received  the  intelligence  that  the  duke  of  Normandy 
had  landed  with  a  numerous  army  in  the  south  of  Eng- 
land. He  resolved  to  give  battle  in  person,  and  soon 
appeared  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  who  had  pitched  their 
camp  at  Hastings.  So  confident  was  Harold  of  success, 
that  to  a  message  sent  by  the  duke,  he  replied,  "The 
God  of  battles  should  soon  be  the  arbiter  of  all  their  dif- 
ferences." 

Both  parties  immediately  prepared  for  action ;  but  the 
English  spent  the  night  previous  to  the  battle  in 

lOfifi  r*ot  anc^  J°*uty '  whilst  the  Normans  were  occu- 
O  t  1 1  P*ec^  m  Praver  and  m  tne  duties  of  religion.  In 
'  the  morning,  the  duke  assembled  his  prinoipal 
officers,  and  harangued  them  in  a  set  speech,  in  which  he 
used  every  argument  that  could  stimulate  their  courage 
and  repel  their  fears.  He  then  ordered  the  signal  of  bat- 
tle to  be  given  ;  and  the  whole  army,  moving  at  once,  and 
singing  the  hymn  or  song  of  Roland,  the  famous  peer  of 
Charlemagne,  advanced  in  order  and  with  alacrity  towards 
the  English. 

Harold  had  seized  the  advantage  of  a  rising  ground, 
and  having  secured  his  flanks  with  trenches,  he  resolved 
to  stand  on* the  defensive,  and  to  avoid  an  engagement 
with  the  cavalry,  in  which  he  was  inferior.  The  Kentish 
men  were  placed  in  the  van,  a  post  of  honour  which  they 
always  claimed  as  their  due.  The  Londoners  guarded 
the  standard ;  and  the  king  himself,  accompanied  by  his 
two  valiant  brothers,  Gurth  and  Leofwin,  dismounting 
from  his  horse,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  infantry, 
and  expressed  his  resolution  to  conquer  or  to  die.  The 
first  attack  of  the  Normans  was  desperate,  but  was  re- 
ceived with  equal  valour  by  the  English  ;  and  the  former 
began  to  retreat,  when  William  hastened  to  their  support 
with  a  select  band.  His  presence  restored  the  action ; 
and  the  English  in  their  turn  were  obliged  to  retire.    They 


36  HISTORIC  OP  ENGLAND. 

rallied  again,  however,  assisted  by  the  advantage  of  the 
ground ;  when  William  commanded  his  troops  to  allure 
the  enemy  from  their  position,  by  the  appearance  of  flight. 
The  English  followed  precipitately  into  the  plain ;  where 
the  Normans  faced  upon  them,  and  forced  them  back  with 
considerable  slaughter.  The  artifice  was  repeated  a  se- 
cond time  with  the  same  success ;  yet  a  great  body  of  the 
English  still  maintained  themselves  in  firm  array,  and 
seemed  resolved  to  dispute  the  victory.  Harold,  however, 
was  slain  by  ah  arrow,  whilst  combatting  at  the  head  of 
his  men  ;  and  his  two  brothers  shared  the  same  fate.  The 
English,  discouraged  by  the  fall  of  their  princes,  fled  on 
all  sides ;  and  the  darkness  of  the  night  contributed  to 
save  those  who  had  survived  the  carnage  of  the  battle. 

Thus  was  gained  by  William,  duke  of  Normandy,  the 
great  and  decisive  victory  of  Hastings,  after  a  battle  fought 
from  morning  to  sun-set,  in  which  the  valour  of  the  van- 
quished, as  well  as  of  the  victors,  wa*s  highly  conspicuous. 
In  this  engagement  nearly  fifteen  thousand  Normans  fell ; 
and  William  had  three  horses  killed  under  him.  But  the 
victory,  however  dearly  purchased,  was  decisive,  as  it  paid 
the  price  of  a  kingdom.  The  body  of  Harold  was  brought 
to  William*  who  generously  restored  it  without  ransom  to 
his  mother.  The  Norman  army  gave  thanks  to  heaven 
for  their  success ;  and  their  prince  pressed  forward  to 
secure  the  prize  he  had  won. 

CHAP.  III. 

The  Reigns  of  William  the  Conqueror,  William  Rufus, 
Henry  /.,  and  Stephen. 
As  soon  as  William  passed  the  Thames  at  Wal- 
lingford,  Stigand,  the  primate,  made  submission  to  *  X^o 
him :  and  before  he  came  in  sight  of  London,  all 
the  chief  nobility  entered  his  camp,  and  requested  him  to 
mount  the  throne,  declaring  that,  as  they  had  always  been 
ruled  by  regal  power,  they  desired  to  follow,  in  this  in- 
stance, the  example  of  their  ancestors,  and  knew  of  no 
one  more  worthy  than  himself  to  hold  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment.    Though  William  feigned  to  hesitate,  and  wished 
to  obtain  a  more  formal  consent  of  the  English  nation, 
yet  he  dreaded  the  danger  of  delay,  and  accepted  of  the 
crown  which  was  thus  tendered  him.     He  was  consecra- 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR.  37 

ted  in  Westminister  abbey  by  Alfred,  archbishop  of  York ; 
and  he  was  attended,  on  this  occasion,  by  the  most  con- 
siderable of  the  nobility,  both  English  and  iNorman. 

Thus,  by  a  pretended  destination  of  king  Edward,  and 
by  an  irregular  election  of  the  people,  but  still  more  by 
force  of  arms,  William  seated  himself  on  the  English 
throne.  He  introduced  into  England  that  strict  execution 
of  justice  for  which  his  government  had  been  much  cele- 
brated in  Normandy.  He  confirmed  the  liberties  and  im- 
munities of  London,  and  the  other  cities  of  England,  and 
appeared  desirous  of  replacing  every  thing  on  ancient 
establishments.  His  whole  administration  had  the  sem- 
blance of  that  of  a  lawful  prince,  not  of  a  conqueror ; 
and  the  English  began  to  flatter  themselves  that  they  had 
changed  only  the  succession  of  their  sovereigns,  and  not 
the  form  of  their  government.  But  amidst  this  confidence 
and  friendship  which  he  expressed  for  the  English,  the 
king  took  care  to  place  all  real  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
Normans.  He  built  citadels  in  London,  Winchester,  Here- 
ford, Oxford,  and  the  towns  best  situated  for  commanding 
the  kingdom,  all  of  which  he  garrisoned  with  Norman 
soldiers. 

By  this  mixture  of  vigour  and  lenity,  William  had  so 
soothed  or  humbled  the  minds  of  the  English,  that  he 
thought  he  might  safely  revisit  his  native  country,  and  en- 
joy the  congratulations  of  his  ancient  subjects.  Accord- 
ingly he  set  out  for  Normandy,  and  carried  over  with  him 
the  chief  of  the  English  nobles,  who,  whilst  they  served  to 
grace  his  court  by  their  magnificence,  were  in  reality  hos- 
tages for  the  fidelity  of  the  nation. 

During  the  absence  of  William,  affairs  took  a  very  un- 
favourable turn  in  England.  It  is  probable  that  the  Nor- 
mans, despising  a  people  who  had  so  easily  submitted  to 
the  yoke,  and  envying  their  riches,  were  desirous  of  pro- 
voking them  to  rebellion.  Certain,  however,  it  is,  that 
their  arrogance  multiplied  discontents  and  complaints  every 
where ;  that  secret  conspiracies  were  entered  into  against 
the  government ;  and  that  every  thing  seemed  to  threaten 
a  revolution.  The  disaffection  of  the  English  daily  increa- 
sed ;  and  a  secret  conspiracy  was  entered  into  to  perpe- 
trate in  one  day  a  general  massacre  of  the  Normans,  like 
that  which  had  been  formerly  executed  upon  the  Danes. 

The  return  of  the  king,  however,  disconcerted  the  plans 
4 


38  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  the  conspirators ;  and  the  confiscation  of  their  estates 
enabled  the  king  still  farther  to  gratify  the  rapacity  of  the 
Normans.  Though  naturally  violent  and  severe  in  his 
temper,  yet  William  still  preserved  the  appearance  of  jus- 
tice in  his  oppressipn ;  he  restored  to  their  inheritance  such 
as  had  been  arbitrarily  expelled  by  the  Normans  during 
his  absence;  but  he  imposed  on  the  people  the  tax  of 
Danegelt,  which  had  been  abolished  by  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, and  which  was  extremely  odious  to  the  nation. 

The  English  now  clearly  foresaw  that  the  king  intend- 
ed to  rely  entirely  on  the  support  and  affection  of  foreign- 
ers, and  that  new  forfeitures  would  be  the  result  of  any 
attempt  to  maintain  their  rights.  Impressed  with  this 
dismal  prospect  many.fled  into  foreign  countries.  Several 
of  them  settled  in  Scotland,  and  founded  families  which 
were  afterwards  illustrious  in  that  country.  But  whilst 
the  English  suffered  under  these  oppressions,  the  Normans 
found  themselves  surrounded  by  an  agreeable  people,  and 
began  to  wish  for  tranquility.  However,  the  rage  of  the 
vanquished  English  served  only  to  excite  the  attention  of 
the  king  and  his  warlike  chiefs  to  suppress  every  com- 
mencement of  rebellion. 

William  introduced  into  England  the  feudal  law*  which 
had  some  time  been  established  in  Normandy  and  France. 
He  divided,  with  very  few  exceptions,  besides  the  royal  de- 
mesnes, all  the  lands  of  England  into  baronies ;  and  he 
conferred  them  with  the  reservation  of  stated  services  and 
payments,  on  the  most  considerable  of  his  adventurers. 
These  barons  made  a*  grant  of  a  great  part  of  their  lands 
to  other  foreigners,  under  the  denomination  of  knights  or 
vassals,  who  paid  their  lord  the  same  duty  and  submis- 
sion which  the  chieftains  paid  to  their  sovereign.  The 
whole  kingdom  contained  about  700  chief  tenants,  and 
60,215  knights-fees ;  and  as  none  of  the  native  English 
were  admitted  into  the  first  rank,  the  few  who  retained 
their  landed  property  were  glad  to  be  received  into  the 
second,  under  the  protection  of  some  powerful  Norman. 

The  doctrine  which  exalted  the  papacy  above  all  human 
power,  had  gradually  diffused  itself  from  Rome ;  but,  at 
this  time,  was  more  prevalent  in  the  southern,  than  in  the 
northern  kingdoms  of  Europe.  Pope  Alexander,  who  had 
assisted  William  in  his  conquest,  naturally  expected  that 
he  would  extend  to  England  the  reverence  for  this  sacred 


;: 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR.  39 

character,  and  break  the  spiritual  independence  of  the 
Saxons.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  Norman  prince  was 
established  on  the  throne,  Alexander  despatched  to  him 
Esmenfroy,  bishop  of  Siam,  as  his  legate:  and  the  king, 
though  he  was  probably  led  by  principle  to  pay  submission 
to  Rome,  determined  to  employ  this  incident  as  a  means 
of  serving  his  political  purposes,  and  degraded  those 
English  prelates  who  were  obnoxious  to  him.  However, 
the  superstitious  spirit  which  became  dangerous  to  some 
of  William's  successors,  was  checked  by  the  abilities  of 
that  monarch.  He  prohibited  his  subjects  from  acknow- 
ledging any  one  for  pope,  whom  he  himself  had  not  pre- 
viously received ;  and  he  would  not  suffer  any  bulls  or 
letters  from  Rome  to  be  produced  without  the  sanction  of 
his  authority. 

But  the  English  had  the  mortification  to  find  that  the 
king  had  employed  himself  chiefly  in  oppressing  them. 
He  even  formed  a  project  of  extinguishing  the  English 
language ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  he  ordered  that  in  all 
schools  youth  should  be  instructed  in  the  French  tongue  ; 
and  that  all  law  proceedings  should  be  directed  in  the 
same  idiom:  hence  arises  that  mixture  of  French  which 
is  at  present  found  in  the  English  tongue,  and  particularly 
in  legal  forms. 

William's  eldest  son,  Robert,  who  was  greedy  of  fame, 
impatient  of  contradiction,  and  without  reserve  in  his 
friendships  or  enmities,  had  been  flattered  with  the  hope 
that  his  father,  in  possession  of  England,  would  resign  to 
him  the  independent  government  of  his  continental  do- 
minions. The  king,  indeed,  had  declared  Robert  his  suc- 
cessor in  Normandy,  and  had  obliged  the  barons  of  that 
duchy  to  do  homage  to  him  as  their  future  sovereign ;  but 
when  Robert  demanded  of  his  father  the  execution  of 
those  engagements,  William  refused ;  Robert  openly  de- 
clared his  discontent,  and  cherished  a  violent  jealousy 
against  his  two  surviving  brothers,  William  and  Henry. 
Irritated  by  an  imaginary  affront,  he  quitted  the  court,  and 
after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  surprise  the  citadel  of  Rou- 
en, fled  to  Hugh  de  Neufchatel,  a  powerful  Norman  baron, 
and  openly  levied  war  against  his  father.  After  a  strug- 
gle of  several  years,  a  reconciliation  was  effected  between 
the  king  and  Robert,  who  soon  after  accompanied  his 
father  to  England. 


40  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Having  gained  a  respite  from  war,  William  employed 
his  leisure  in  an  undertaking  which  does  honour  to  his  me- 
mory. He  appointed  commissioners  to  survey  all  the 
lands  in  the  kingdom  ;  their  extent  in  each  district ;  their 
proprietors,  tenures,  value ;  and  the  quantity  of  meadow, 
pasture,  wood,  and  arable  land,  which  they  contained. 
This  monument,  called  Domesday  Book,  was  perfected  in 
six  years,  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  exchequer. 

The  domestic  happiness  of  William  was  again 
interrupted  by  the  death  of  his  consort  Matilda,  iqoo' 
whom  he  tenderly  loved.  He  was  involved  in  war 
with  France,  on  account  of  the  inroads  into  Normandy  by 
some  French  barons  on  the  frontiers.  The  displeasure  of 
William  was  increased  by  some  railleries  which  Philip  of 
France  had  thrown  out  against  his  person.  He  was  be- 
come corpulent,  and  had  been  detained  in  bed  some  time 
by  sickness,  when  Philip  jocularly  expressed  his  surprise, 
that  his  brother  of  England  should  be  so  long  in  being  de- 
livered of  his  big  belly.  This  being  reported  to  William, 
he  sent  Phillip  word,  that,  as  soon  as  he  was  up,  he  would 
present  so  many  lights  at  Notre-Dame,  as  perhaps  would 
give  little  pleasure  to  the  king  of  France ;  alluding  to  the 
usual  practice  at  that  time  of  women  after  child-birth. 
Immediately  after  his  recovery,  he  led  an  army  into  the 
Isle  of  France,  which  he  laid  waste ;  and  he  also  took 
and  reduced  to  ashes  the  town  of  Mante.  But  the  pro- 
gress of  these  hostilities  was  stopped  by  an  accident,  which 
put  an  end  to  his  life.  His  horse  starting,  he  bruised  his 
belly  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  ;  and  being  in  a  bad 
habit  of  body,  and  apprehending  the  consequences,  he 
ordered  himself  to  be  carried  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Ger- 
vas.  In  his  last  moments,  he  was  struck  with  remorse 
for  the  cruelties  he  had  exercised,  and  endeavoured  to 
make  atonement  by  presents  to  churches  and  monasteries. 
He  left  Normandy  and  Maine  to  his  eldest  son,  Robert ; 
and  he  wrote  to  Lanfranc,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  de- 
siring him  to  crown  his  second  son,  William.  Tp  Henry, 
his  third  son,  he  bequeathed  nothing  save  the  possessions 
of  his  mother  Matilda ;  but  foretold  that  he  would  one 
day  surpass  both  his  brothers,  in  power  and  opulence. 
Having  made  these  dispositions,  he  expired,  in  the  sixty- 
third  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  twenty-first  of  his  reign 
over  England. 


WILLIAM   RUPUS.  41 

Few  princes  have  been  more  fortunate  than  William,  or 
were  better  entitled  to  grandeur  and  prosperity,  from  the 
abilities  and  vigour  of  mind  which  he  displayed  in  all  his 
conduct.  His  spirit  was  bold  and  enterprising,  yet  guided 
by  prudence ;  and  his  ambition,  though  exhorbitant,  gene- 
rally submitted  to  the  dictates  of  sound  policy.  Though 
not  insensible  to  generosity,  he  was  hardened  against  com- 
passion ;  and  his  conduct  was  too  austere  to  render  his 
government  popular  over  a  vanquished  people,  who  felt 
him  to  be  both  a  master  and  a  tyrant. 

William,  surnamed  Rufus,  from  the  red  colour  of  his 
hair,  was  solemnly  crowned  king  of  England  by  the 
1 087  Primate  5  ano<  ahout  the  same  time  Robert  was  ac- 
knowledged successor  to  Normandy.  But  the  barons, 
who  possessed  estates  both  in  England  and  Normandy,  were 
uneasy  at  the  separation  of  those  territories  ;  they  respect- 
ed the  claim  of  primogeniture  in  Robert,  and  they  pre- 
ferred his  open  and  generous  nature  to  the  haughty  and 
tyrannical  disposition  of  his  brother.  A  conspiracy,  there- 
for^, was  formed  against  William,  who,  conscious  of  his 
danger,  endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  affections  of  the 
English,  by  promises  of  future  lenity,  and  the  indulgence 
of  hunting  in  the  royal  forests.  The  English  espoused  the 
cause  of  William,  who  marched  an  army  into  Kent,  and 
reduced  the  fortresses  of  Pevensey  and  Rochester,  which 
had  been  seized  by  his  uncles.  This  success,  together  with 
the  indolent  conduct  of  Robert,  broke  all  the  hopes  of  the 
rebels ;  some  few  of  whom  received  a  pardon,  but  the 
greater  part  were  attainted,  and  their  estates  confiscated. 

But  the  noise  of  the  petty  wars  and  commotions  sunk 
in  the  tumult  of  the  crusades,  which  engrossed  the  atten- 
tion and  agitated  the  hearts  of  the  principal  nations  of 
Europe.  Peter  the  Hermit,  a  native  of  Amiens  in  Pi- 
cardy,  had  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  then  in 
possession  of  the  Turks.  Deeply  affected  with  the  dan- 
gers to  which  that  act  of  piety  now  exposed  the  pilgrims, 
he  entertained  the  design  of  leading  against  the  Moslems 
the  hardy  warriors  of  the  west.  By  permission  of  the  pope, 
Martin  the  Second,  he  preached  the  crusade  over  Europe; 
and  men  of  all  ranks  flew  to  arms,  with  the  greatest  alacri- 
ty, for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  the  Holy  Land  from  the 
infidels.  The  sign  of  the  cross  became  the  badge  of 
union,  and  was  affixed  on  their  right  shoulder,  by  all  who 
4* 


42  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

enlisted  themselves  in  this  sacred  warfare.  Such  was  the 
general  ardour,  that  while  the  youthful  and  vigorous  took 
up  arms,  the  infirm  and  aged  contributed  to  the  expedition 
by  presents  and  money.  A  promiscuous,  disorderly  mul- 
titude of  300,000,  impatient  to  commence  operations,  under 
the  conduct  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  attempted  to  penetrate 
through  Hungary  and  Bulgaria  to  Constantinople,  and 
perished  by  disease,  by  famine,  and  the  sword.  These 
were  followed  by  more  numerous  and  better  disciplined 
armies,  which,  after  passing  the  streights  at  Constantino- 
ple, were  mustered  in  the  plains  of  Asia,  and  amounted 
to  the  number  of  700,000  combatants. 

Robert  duke  of  Normandy,  impelled  by  the  bravery  and 
mistaken  generosity  of  his  spirit,  had  early  engaged  in  the 
crusade ;  but  being  destitute  of  money,  he  offered  to  mort- 
gage, or  rather  sell  his  dominions,  to  his  brother  William, 
for  the  inadequate  sum  of  ten  thousand  marks.  The  bar- 
gain was  soon  concluded ;  and  whilst  Robert  set  out  with 
a  magnificent  train  for  the  Holy  Land,  William  possessed 
himself  of  Normandy,  and  thus  reunited  beneath  his 
authority  the  extensive  dominions  of  his  father. 

The  cession  of  Normandy  and  Maine  extended  the  do- 
minions, but,  on  account  of  the  unsettled  state  of  those 
countries,  weakened  the.  power  of  William.  The  Norman 
nobles  were  men  of  independent  minds,  and  were  support- 
ed by  the  French  king  in  all  their  insurrections.  Helic, 
lord  of  Le  Fleche,  a  small  town  in  Anjou,  obliged  William 
to  undertake  several  expeditions,  before  he  could  prevail 
over  a  petty  baron,  who  had  acquired  the  confidence  and 
affections  of  the  inhabitants  of  Maine. 

However,  the  king  was  not  less  desirous  of  extending 
his  dominions.  William,  earl  of  Poictiers  and  duke  of 
Guienne,  inflamed  with  the  spirit  of  adventure,  determi- 
ned to  join  the  crusaders ;  but  wanting  money  to  forward 
the  preparations,  he  offered  to  mortgage  his  dominions  to 
the  king  of  England.  This  proposal  was  accepted  by  the 
king,  who  had  prepared  a  fleet  and  army  to  escort  the 
money  and  to  take  possession  of  the  rich  provinces  of 
Poictiers  and  Guienne,  when  an  accident  put  an  end  to 
all  his  ambitious  projects  and  views  of  aggrandizement. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  New  Forest  in  hunting,  accompa- 
nied by  Walter  Tyrrel,  a  French  gentleman,  remarkable 
for  his  skill  in  archery;  and  as  William  dismounted  after 


Death  of  William  Rufus. 


William  the  First  receiving  the  Crown, 


HENRY   I.  43 

a  chase,  Tyrrel,  impatient  of  showing  his  dexterity,  let  fly 
an  arrow  at  a  stag,  which  suddenly  started  before  him. 
The  arrow  glancing  from  a  tree,  struck  the  king  in  the 
breast,  and  instantly  killed  him.  Tyrrel,  fearful  of  suspi- 
cions which  perhaps  he  was  conscious  of  incurring,  with- 
out informing  the  royal  attendants,  gained  the  sea  shore, 
embarked  for  France,  and  joined  the  crusade  in  an  expe- 
dition to  Jerusalem,  as  a  penance  for  this  involuntary  crime. 
William  was  perfidious  and  oppressive;  and  the  extremes 
of  prodigality  and  rapacity,  which  were  reconciled  in  him, 
had  long  estranged  from  him  the  hearts  of  his  subjects. 
The  chief  monuments  which  perpetuate  his  name  are  the 
Tower,  Westminister  Hall,  and  London  Bridge. 

Prince  Henry  was  hunting  with  Rufus  in  the  New  Fo- 
rest, when  that  monarch  was  killed ;  and,  hasten- 
^'inn  m£  to  Winchester,  he  extorted  by  threats  the  royal 
treasure    from  William  de  Breteuil,   the  keeper. 
Pursuing  his  journey  to  London,   and  having  assembled 
some  noblemen  and  prelates,  whom  his  address  or  libe- 
rality gained  to  his  side,  he  was  saluted  king ;  and  in  less 
than  three  days  after  his  brother's  death,  he  was  solemnly 
crowned  by  Maurice,  bishop  of  London. 

To  maintain  the  dignity  which  he  had  thus  usurped, 
Henry  resolved  to  court,  by  fair  professions  at  least,  the 
favour  of  his  subjects.  He  passed  a  charter,  which  was 
framed  to  remedy  many  of  the  grievous  oppressions  that 
had  been  complained  of  during  the  reigns  of  his  father  and 
brother.  He  espoused  Matilda,  daughter  of  Malcolm  'the 
Third,  king  of  Scotland,  and  niece  to  Edgar  Atheling ; 
and  his  marriage  with  a  Saxon  princess  endeared  him  to 
the  English,  and  tended  to  establish  him  on  the  throne. 

Robert  returned  to  Normandy  about  a  month  after  the 
death  of  his  brother  William.  After  establishing  his  au- 
thority over  Normandy,  he  made  preparations  for  possess- 
ing himself  of  England,  of  which  he  had  been  so  unjustly 
defrauded.  The  two  armies  lay  in  sight  of  each  other  for 
several  days  without  coming  to  action.  It  was,  however, 
agreed,  that  Robert,  in  lieu  of  his  pretensions  to  England, 
should  receive  an  annual  pension  of  3000  marks  f  that  if 
either  of  the  princes  died  without  issue,  the  survivor  should 
succeed  to  his  dominions ;  and  that  the  adherents  of  each 
should  be  pardoned. 

Although  plunged  into  the  most  dissolute  pleasures,  or 


44  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

abandoned  to  the  most  womanish  superstitions,  Robert 
neglected  the  government  of  his  duchy ;  and  Normandy 
became  a  scene  of  violence  and  depredation.  To  avail 
himself  of  these  disorders,  Henry  raised  a  numerous  army, 
with  which  he  invaded  Normandy.  He  took  Bayeuk  by 
storm,  and  was  admitted  into  Caen  by  the  inhabitants. 
Robert,  roused  at  last  from  his  lethargy,  advanced  to  meet 
him,  with  a  view  of  terminating  their  quarrels  in  a  deci- 
sive battle ;  he  resumed  his  wonted  spirit ;  he  animated 
his  troops  by  his  example,  and  threw  the  English  into  dis- 
order :  but  when  he  had  the  fairest  prospects  of  victory, 
the  treachery  and  flight  of  one  of  his  generals  occasioned 
the  total  defeat  of  his  army.  Robert  and  ten  thousand 
of  his  followers  were  made  pnsoners.  Normandy  sub- 
mitted to  the  victors ;  and  the  unfortunate  prince  was 
carried  by  Henry  to  England,  and  detained  in  prison  du- 
ring the  remainder  of  his  life  in  the  castle  of  Gardiff,  in 
Glamorganshire. 

The  conquest  of  Normandy  seemed  to  establish  the 
throne  of  Henry;  but  his  prosperity  was  clouded  by  a 
severe  domestic  calamity.  His  only  son,  William,  had 
reached  his  eighteenth  year ;  he  had  been  affianced  to  the 
danghter  of  Fulk,  count  of  Anjou  ;  and  he  had  been  ac- 
knowledged as  successor  to  the  kingdom  of  England,  and 
the  duchy  of  Normandy.  The  prince  was  detained  for 
some  hours  after  his  father  had  set  sail  from  Barfleur  to 
return  to  England  ;  and  his  captain  and  crew  having  spent 
the  interval  in  drinking,  when  they  weighed  anchor,  in 
their  impatience  to  overtake  the  king,  they  struck  the  ship 
on  a  rock,  where  she  immediately  foundered.  William 
was  instantly  put  into  the  long-boat  and  had  got  clear  of 
the  ship  ;  when  hearing  the  cries  of  his  natural  sister,  the 
countess  of  Perche,  he  ordered  the  seamen  to  row  back 
in  hopes  of  saving  her.  But  the  numbers  who  then 
crowded  in,  soon  sunk  the  boat ;  and  the  prince,  with  all 
his  retinue,  perished.  Above  one  hundred  and  forty  young 
noblemen,  of  the  principal  families  of  England  and  Nor- 
mandy, were  lost  on  this  occasion ;  and  the  only  person 
that  escaped  to  relate  the  melancholy  tale  was  a  butcher 
of  Rouen,  who  clung  to  the  mast,  and  was  taken  up  the 
next  morning  by  some  fishermen.  When  Henry  received 
intelligence  of  this  mournful  event,  he  fainted  away ;  and 


STEPHEN.  45 

it  was  remarked  that  he  never  after  recovered  his  wonted 
cheerfulness. 

Henry  had  now  no  legitimate  issue  except  one  daugh- 
ter, Matilda,  whom  he  had  betrothed,  when  only  eight 
years  of  age,  to  the  emperor  Henry  the  Fifth,  and  whom 
he  had  sent  over  to  be  educated  in  Germany.  Fearful  lest 
her  absence  from  the  kingdom,  and  marriage  into  a  foreign 
family,  might  endanger  the  succession,  Henry  obtained 
the  hand  of  Adelais,  daughter  of  Godfrey,  duke  of  Lo- 
raine.  Adelais,  however,  proved  barren  in  his  embraces ; 
and  he  bestowed  his  daughter  Matilda,  who  had  become  a 
widow,  on  GeofFery,  the  son  of  Fulk,  count  of  Anjou. 

Henry  died  at  St.  Dennis  le  Forment,  from  eating  too 
plentifully  of  lampreys,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his 
age,  and  the  thirty-fifth  of  his  reign  ;  leaving  by  will  his 
daughter  Matilda  the  heir  of  all  his  dominions.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  accomplished  princes  that  ever  graced  the 
English  throne.  His  person  was  manly,  and  his  counte- 
nance engaging ;  and  he  was  eloquent,  penetrating,  and 
brave.  By  his  great  progress  in  literature,  he  acquired  the 
name  of  Beau-clerc,  or  the  scholar ;  but  his  application  to 
those  sedentary  pursuits  abated  nothing  of  the  activity  and 
vigilance  of  his  government. 

The  failure  of  male  heirs  to  the  kingdom  of  England 
and  duchy  of  Normandy,  seemed  to  leave  the  suc- 
1*1^  cession  open,  without  a  rival,  to  the  empress  Ma- 
tilda ;  but  no  sooner  had  Henry  breathed  his  last, 
than  Stephen,  son  of  Adela,  daughter  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, hastened  to  London,  and  was  saluted  king  by  the 
populace.  His  father  was  the  count  of  Blois,  whom  Adela 
bad  married ;  and  Stephen  had  always  affected  the  greatest 
attachment  to  his  uncle,  the  late  king,  and  the  most  ardent 
zeal  for  the  succession  of  Matilda.  After  gaining  the 
populace,  Stephen  next  acquired  the  good-will  of  the 
clergy,  by  the  influence  of  his  brother  Henry,  bishop  of 
Winchester ;  and  he  was  solemnly  crowned  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  without  much  attendance  indeed, 
but  without  opposition. 

The  Normans  no  sooner  heard  that  Stephen  had  seized 
the  English  crown,  than  they  swore  allegiance  to  him  ; 
and  Matilda  was  scarcely  informed  of  her  father's  death, 
before  she  found  another  had  usurped  her  rights.  Matilda, 
however,  did  not  long  delay  to  assert  Ijer  claim  to  the 


46  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

crown.  Encouraged  by  a  quarrel  which  had  broken  out 
between  Stephen  and  some  of  the  clergy,  she  landed  in 
England,  with  Robert,  earl  of  Gloucester,  and  a  retinue 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  knights.  She  fixed  her  residence 
at  Arundel  castle,  the  gates  of  which  were  opened  to  her 
by  Adelais,  the  queen-dowager  ;  and  she  excited  her  par- 
tisans to  take  arms  in  every  county  of  England.  The  war 
quickly  broke  out  in  every  quarter;  and  England,  for 
more  than  a  year,  was  distressed  and  laid  waste  by  the 
fury  of  the  contending  parties.  At  last,  a  battle  took  place 
between  Stephen  and  the  earl  of  Gloucester.  After  a  vio- 
lent shock,  the  two  wings  of  the  royalists  were  put  to 
flight ;  and  Stephen  himself,  surrounded  by  the  enemy, 
was  borne  down  by  numbers,  and  taken  prisoner. 

The  authority  of  Matilda  now  seemed  to  be  established 
over  the  whole  kingdom  ;  but  affairs  did  not  remain  long 
in  this  situation.  Matilda'  was  passionate  and  imperious, 
and  did  not  know  how  to  temper  with  affability  the  harsh- 
ness of  a  refusal.  Stephen's  queen,  seconded  by  many  of 
the  nobility,  petitioned  for  the  liberty  of  her  husband,  on 
condition  that  he  should  renounce  the  crown,  and  retire 
into  a  convent.  Other  petitions  also  were  presented  to 
Matilda ;  but  she  rejected  them  all  in  the  most  haughty 
and  peremptory  maimer.  A  conspiracy  was  entered  into 
to  seize  her  person  ;  but  Matilda  saved  herself  by  a  precipi- 
tate retreat  to  Oxford.  The  civil  war  was  rekindled  with 
greater  fury  than  ever ;  and  Matilda,  harassed  with  inces- 
sant action,  sought  repose  with  her  son  in  Normandy. 

But  when  prince  Henry,  the  son  of  Matilda,  had  reach- 
ed his  sixteenth  year,  he  resolved  to  reclaim  his  hereditary 
kingdom.  Informed  of  the  dispositions  of  the  English  in 
his  favour,  he  invaded  England  ;  and,  at  Malmesbury,  he 
prepared  to  encounter  Stephen  in  a  pitched  battle.  The 
great  men  on  both  sides,  alarmed  at  the  consequences  of  a 
decisive  action,  compelled  the  rival  princes  to  a  negotia- 
tion. It  was  agreed,  that,  on  the  demise  of  Stephen,  the 
crown  should  revert  to  Henry ;  and  that  William,  Ste- 
phen's surviving  son,  should  succeed  to  the  earldom  of 
Boulogne,  and  his  patrimonial  estate.  After  all  the  barons 
had  sworn  to  the  observance  of  this  treaty,  and  done  ho- 
mage to  Henry,  as  heir-apparent  to  the  crown,  that  prince 
evacuated  the  kingdom ;  and  the  death  of  Stephen,  which 


HENRY  II.  47 

happened  the  next  year,  after  a  short  illness,  in  the  fiftieth 
year  of  his  age,  put  an  end  to  farther  jealousies. 

Had  Stephen  succeeded  by  a  just  title  to  the  crown,  he 
seems  to  have  been  well  qualified  to  have  promoted  the 
happiness  of  his  subjects.  He  was  possessed  of  industry, 
activity,  and  courage ;  and  though  his  judgment  may  be 
arraigned,  his  humanity  must  be  acknowledged,  and  his 
address  commended.  During  this  reign,  the  see  of  Rome 
made  a  rapid  progress  in  its  encroachments,  and  ulti- 
mately pretended  to  a  paramount  authority  over  the  kings 
of  this  country. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Reigns  of  Henry  II,,  Richard  I.,  and  John. 

The  first  acts  of  Henry's  government  corresponded  to 
the  high  idea  entertained  of  his  abilities.  He  dis- 
1 1  -r  missed  the  mercenary  soldiers  of  Stephen  ;  revok- 
ed all  grants  made  by  his  predecessors ;  restored 
the  coin  which  had  been  debased  during  the  former  reign ; 
and  was  rigorous  in  the  execution  of  justice,  and  the  sup- 
pression of  violence. 

In  addition  to  his  possessing  the  throne  of  England, 
Henry,  in  right  of  his  father,  was  master  of  Anjou  and 
Touraine ;  in  that  of  his  mother,  of  Normandy  and  Maine ; 
in  that  of  his  wife,  of  Guienne,  Poictou,  Xantiogne,  Au- 
vergne,  Perigord,  Angoumois,  and  the  Limosin ;  and  he 
annexed  Brittany  to  his  other  states  ;  all  of  which  ren- 
dered him  one  of  the  most  powerful  monarchs  in  Christen- 
dom, and  an  object  of  great  jealousy  to  the  king  of  France. 

Henry  directed  his  attention  to  the  encroachments  of 
the  see  of  Rome,  which  had  grown  with  a  rapidity  not  to 
be  brooked  by  a  prince  of  his  high  spirit.  To  facilitate 
his  design  of  suppressing  them,  he  advanced  to  the  dignity 
of  metropolitan,  Becket,  his  chancellor,  on  whose  flexibi- 
lity of  temper  he  had  made  a  wrong  estimate. 

Thomas  a  Becket  was  born  of  reputable  parents  in  the 
city  of  London ;  and  having  insinuated  himself  into  the 
favour  o£  Theobald,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  obtained 
from  that  prelate  considerable  preferment.  Being  of  a 
gay  and  splendid  turn,  and  apparently  little  tenacious  of 
ecclesiastical  privileges,  Henry  thought  him  the  fittest  per- 
son, on  the  death  of  Theobald,  for  the  high  station  of  me- 


48  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

tropolitan ;  but  no  sooner  was  he  installed  on  this  high 
dignity,  than  he  altered  his  conduct  and  demeanor.  He 
maintained  in  his  retinue  and  attendants  alone  his  ancient 
pomp  and  lustre ;  in  his  own  person  he  affected  the  greatest 
austerity ;  he  wore  sackcloth  next  his  skin,  which  he  pre- 
tended to  conceal ;  he  seemed  perpetually  employed  in  re- 
citing prayers  and  pious  lectures ;  and  all  men  of  penetra- 
tion plainly  saw  that  he  was  meditating  some  great  design. 

Though  Henry  found  himself  grievously  mistaken  in  the 
character  of  the  person  whom  he  had  raised  to  the  pri- 
macy, yet  he  determined  not  to  desist  from  his  former  in- 
tention of  retrenching  clerical  usurpations.  The  ecclesi- 
astics in  that  age  had  renounced  all  immediate  subordina- 
tion to  the  magistrate ;  and  crimes  of  the  blackest  die  were 
committed  by  them  with  impunity.  A  clerk  in  Worces- 
tershire, having  debauched  a  gentleman's  daughter,  had 
proceeded  to  murder  the  father ;  the  general  indignation 
against  the  crime,  moved  the  king  to  attempt  the  remedy  of 
an  abuse  which  had  become  so  palpable,  and  to  require  that 
the  clerk  should  be  delivered  up,  and  receive  condign  pun- 
ishment from  the  magistrate.  Becket  insisted  on  the  privi- 
leges of  the  church,  and  maintained  that  no  greater  punish- 
ment could  be  inflicted  on  the  criminal  than  degradation. 

In  order  to  define  expressly  those  laws  to  which  he  re- 
quired obedience,  and  to  mark  the  limits  between  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  jurisdictions,  Henry  summoned  a  gene- 
ral council  of  the  nobility  and  prelates  at  Clarendon ;  when, 
by  his  influence  or  authority,  the  laws  so  favourable  to  pre- 
rogative, known  by  the  name  of  the  Constitutions  of  Cla- 
rendon, were  voted  without  opposition.  Becket,  of  all  the 
prelates,  alone  withheld  his  assent ;  but  he  was  at  last 
obliged  to  comply,  and  engaged  by  oath  legally,  with  good 
faith,  and  without  fraud  or  reserve,-  to  observe  them. 
However,  Alexander,  who  was  pope  at  that  time,  con- 
demned them  in  the  strongest  terms,  abrogated,  annulled, 
and  rejected  them. 

Becket  no  sooner  learned  the  determination  of  the  Ro- 
man pontiff,  than  he  expressed  the  deepest  sorrow  for  his 
compliance,  and  endeavoured  to  engage  the  other  bishops 
to  adhere  to  their  common  rights.  This  excited  the  resent- 
ment of  Henry,  who  caused  a  prosecution  for  some  land 
that  he  held  to  be  commenced  against  him ;  and  when  the 
primate  excused  himself  from  appearing,  on  account  of 


HENRY  II.  49 

indisposition,  he  was  arraigned  as  guilty  of  a  contempt  of 
the  king's  court ;  and  being  condemned,  his  goods  and 
chattels  were  confiscated.  Henry  soon  after  required 
Becket  to  give  in  the  account  of  his  administration  while 
chancellor,  and  estimated  the  balance  due  at  44,000 
marks,  for  which  he  demanded  sureties.  After  celebra- 
ting mass,  where  he  had  previously  ordered  that  the  introit 
to  the  communion  service  should  begin  with  the  words, 
Princes  sat  and  spake  against  me,  arrayed  in  the  sacred 
vestments,  and  bearing  the  cross  aloft  in  his  hands,  he 
entered  the  royal  apartments,  and  declared  that  he  put 
himself  and  his  see  under  the  protection  of  the  supreme 
pontiff.  Having  in  vain  asked  permission  to  leave  North- 
ampton, he  withdrew  secretly  to  the  sea-coast,  and  found 
a  vessel  which  conveyed  him  to  France,  where  he  was 
received  with  every  token  of  regard. 

Henry  issued  orders  to  his  justiciaries,  inhibiting,  under 
severe  penalties,  all  appeals  to  the  pope  or  archbishop ; 
and  by  discovering  some  intentions  of  acknowledging 
Pascal  III.,  the  anti-pope  at  that  time,  he  endeavoured  to 
terrify  the  enterprising  though  prudent  pontiff  from  pro- 
ceeding to  extremities  against  him.  On  the  other  hand, 
Becket  not  only  issued  a  censure,  excommunicating  the 
king's  chief  ministers  by  name,  but  also  abrogated  and 
annulled  the  constitutions  of  Clarendon ;  and  he  declared 
that  he  suspended  the  spiritual  thunder  over  Henry  him- 
self, solely  that  the  prince  might  avoid  the  blow  by  a 
timely  repentance. 

At  length  a  reconciliation  was  effected  between  the  king 
and  the  primate ;  and  Becket  was  allowed  to  return,  on 
conditions  which  may  be  esteemed  both  honourable  and 
advantageous  to  that  prelate.  He  was  not  required  to 
give  up  any  rights  of  the  church,  or  resign  any  of  those 
pretensions  which  had  been  the  original  ground  of  the 
controversy.  It  was  agreed  that  all  th«se  questions  should 
be  buried  in  oblivion ;  but  that  Becket  and  his  adherents 
should,  without  making  further  submission,  be  restored  to 
all  their  livings ;  and  that  even  the  possessors  of  such  be- 
nefices as  depended  on  the  see  of  Canterbury,  and  had 
been  filled  during  the  primate's  absence,  should  be  expel- 
led, and  Becket  have  liberty  to  supply  the  vacancies.  In 
return  for  concessions  which  trenched  so  deeply  on  the 
honour  and  dignity  of  the  crown,  Henry  reaped  only  the 
5 


( 


50  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

advantage  of  seeing  his  ministers  absolved  from  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication  pronounced  against  them,  and 
of  preventing  the  interdict  with  which  his  kingdom  had 
been  threatened.  So  anxious  was  Henry  to  accommo- 
date all  differences,  and  to  reconcile  himself  fully  with 
Becket,  that  on  one  occasion  he  humiliated  himself  so 
far  as  to  hold  the  stirrup  of  that  haughty  prelate  while  he 
mounted  his  horse. 

Whilst  the  king  was  expecting  an  interdict  to  be  laid  on 
his  kingdom,  he  had  associated  his  son,  prince  Henry,  in 
the  royalty,  and  had  caused  him  to  be  crowned  by  the 
archbishop  of  York.  Becket,  elated  by  the  victory  which 
he  had  gained  over  his  sovereign,  on  his  arrival  in  Eng- 
land suspended  the  archbishop  of  York,  and  excommuni- 
cated the  bishops  of  London  and  Salisbury,  who  had  as- 
sisted at  the  coronation  of  the  prince. 

When  the  suspended  and  excommunicated  prelates  ar- 
rived at  Baieux,  where  the  king  then  resided,  and  inform- 
ed him  of  the  violent  proceedings  of  Becket,  he  was  vehe- 
mently agitated,  and  burst  forth  in  an  exclamation  against 
his  servants,  whose  want  of  zeal,  he  said,  had  so  long  left 
him  exposed  to  the  enterprises  of  that  ungrateful  and  im- 
perious prelate.  Four  gentlemen  of  his  household,  Regi- 
nald Fitz-Urse,  William  de  Traci,  Hugh  de  Moreville, 
and  Richard  Brito,  taking  these  passionate  expressions  to 
be  a  hint  for  the  primate's  death,  immediately  communi- 
cated their  thoughts  to  each  other ;  and  swearing  to  avenge 
their  prince's  quarrel,  secretly  withdrew  from  court.  The 
four  assassins,  though  they  took  different  roads  to  Eng- 
land, arrived  nearly  at  the  same  time  at  Saltwood,  near 
Canterbury ;  and  being  there  joined  by  some  assistants, 
they  proceeded  in  great  haste  to  the  archiepiscopal  palace. 
They  found  the  primate,  who  trusted  entirely  to  the  sa- 
credness  of  his  character,  very  slenderly  attended ;  and 
though  they  threw  out  many  menaces  and  reproaches 
against  him,  he  was  so  incapable  of  fear,  that,  without 
using  any  precautions  against  their  violence,  he  immedi- 
ately proceeded  to  St.  Benedict's  church  to  hear  vespers. 
They  followed  him  thither,  attacked  him  before  the  altar, 
and  having  cloven  his  head  with  many  blows,  retired  with- 
out experiencing  any  opposition.  Such  was  the  tragical 
end  of  Thomas  a  Becket,  a  prelate  of  the  most  lofty,  in- 
trepid, and  inflexible  spirit,  who  was  able  to  cover  to  the 


£ 


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liw'iffllttlalyl 

IflBfT'M i^Mffl 

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;•  ':                       \ 

^^M 

Edwy  and  Elgiva. 


Becket's  Death. 


HENRY  II.  51 

world,  and  probably  to  himself,  the  enterprises  of  pride 
and  ambition,  under  the  disguise  of  sanctity,  and  of  zeal 
for  the  interests  of  religion. 

The  intelligence  of  Becket's  murder  threw  the  king  into 
the  greatest  consternation  ;  and  he  was  immediately  sen- 
sible of  the  dangerous  consequences  which  he  had  to  ap- 
prehend from  so  horrible  an  event.  However,  the  rage  of 
Alexander  was  appeased,  by  the  ministers  of  Henry  ma- 
king oath  before  the  whole  consistory  of  their  sovereign's 
innocence,  and  engaging  that  he  would  make  every  sub- 
mission which  should  be  required  of  him.  Becket  was 
afterwards  canonized  by  the  pope  ;  and  pilgrimages  were 
performed  to  obtain  his  intercession  with  heaven. 

Henry,  finding  himself  in  no  immediate  danger  from 
the  thunders  of  the  Vatican,  undertook  an  expedi- 
1  j  ~2  ti°n  against  Ireland.  That  island,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  twelfth  century,  besides  many  small 
tribes,  contained  five  principal  sovereignties,  Munster, 
Leinster,  Meath,  Ulster,  and  Connaught ;  and,  as  it  had 
been  usual  for  one  or  the  other  of  these  to  take  the  lead  in 
their  wars,  there  was  commonly  some  prince,  who  seemed, 
for  the  time,  to  act  as  monarch  of  Ireland.  Roderic 
O'Connor,  king  of  Connaught,  was  then  advanced  to  this 
dignity ;  but  his  government,  ill  obeyed  even  within  his 
own  territory,  could  not  unite  the  people  in  any  measures 
either  for  the  establishment  of  order,  or  for  defence  against 
foreigners. 

Dermot  Macmorrogh,  king  of  Leinster,  having  rendered 
himself  obnoxious  by  his  licentious  tyranny,  had  been  ex- 
pelled his  dominions  by  a  confederacy,  of  which  Con- 
naught was  the  chief.  The  exiled  prince  applied  to  Henry 
for  succour,  who  gave  Dermot  no  other  assistance  than 
letters  patent,  by  which  he  empowered  all  his  subjects  to 
aid  him  in  the  recovery  of  his  dominions.  Dermot  formed 
a  treaty  with  Richard,  surnamed  Strongbow,  earl  of  Stri- 
gul ;  who  stipulated,  for  this  assistance,  a  promise  that  he 
should  marry  liis  daughter  Eva,  and  be  declared  heir  to 
all  his  territories.  Dermot  also  engaged  in  his  service 
Robert  Fitz- Stephens,  constable  of  Abertivi,  and  Maurice 
Fitz-Gerald,  and  obtained  their  promise  of  invading  Ire- 
land ;  he  himself  privately  returned  to  his  own  state,  con- 
cealed himself  in  a  monastery  which  he  had  founded,  and 
prepared  every  thing  for  the  reception  of  his  English  allies. 


52  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

The  troops  of  Fitz-Stephens  were  first  ready.  That 
gentleman  landed  in  Ireland  with  thirty  knights,  sixty  es- 
quires, and  three  hundred  archers.  The  conjunction  of 
Maurice  de  Pendergast,  who  about  the  same  time  brought 
over  ten  knights  and  sixty  archers,  enabled  Fitz-Stephens 
to  attempt  the  siege  of  Wexford,  a  town  inhabited  by  the 
Danes ;  and  after  gaining  an  advantage,  he  made  himself 
master  of  the  place.  Soon  after,  Fitz-Gerald  arrived  with 
ten  knights,  thirty  esquires,  and  a  hundred  archers ;  and 
being  joined  by  the  former  adventurers,  composed  a  force 
which  nothing  in  Ireland  was  able  to  withstand.  Roderic, 
the  chief  monarch  of  the  island,  was  foiled  in  different  ac- 
tions; the  prince  oA  Ossory  was  obliged  to  submit,  and 
give  hostages  for  his  peaceable  behaviour;  and  Dermot, 
not  content  with  being  restored  to  his  kingdom  of  Leinster, 
projected  the  dethroning  of  Roderic,  and  aspired  to  the 
sole  dominion  of  Ireland. 

In  prosecution  of  these  views,  he  sent  over  a  messenger 
to  the  earl  of  Strigul,  challenging  the  performance  of  his 
promise,  and  displaying  the  mighty  advantages  which 
might  now  be  reaped  by  a  reinforcement  of  warlike  troops 
from  England.  Strongbow  first  sent  over  Raymond,  one 
of  his  retinue,  with  ten  knights,  and  seventy  archers  ;  and 
as  Richard  himself,  who  brought  over  two  hundred  horse 
and  a  body  of  archers,  joined  them  a  few  days  after,  the 
English  made  themselves  masters  of  Waterford,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Dublin,  which  was  taken  by  assault.  Richard, 
marrying  Eva,  became  soon  after,  by  the  death  of  Dermot, 
master  of  the  kingdom  of  Leinster,  and  prepared  to  ex- 
tend his  authority  over  all  Ireland. 

Henry,  jealous  of  the  progress  of  his  own  subjects,  sent 
orders  to  recall  ail  the  English ;  and  that  monarch  him- 
self landed  in  Ireland  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  knights. 
The  adventurers  appeased  him  by  offering  to  hold  all  their 
acquisitions  in  vassalage  to  his  crown ;  and  the  Irish,  being 
dispirited  by  their  misfortunes,  nothing  more  was  neces- 
sary than  to  receive  their  submission.  The  whole  island 
was  formally  annexed  to  the  English  crown ;  and  Henry, 
after  granting  to  earl  Strigul  the  commission  of  seneschal 
of  Ireland,  returned  in  triumph  to  England. 

The  king  had  appointed  Henry,  his  eldest  son,  to  be  his 
successor  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  the  duchy  of  Nor- 
mandy, and  the  counties  of  Anjou,  Maine,  and  Touraine; 


HENRY  II.  53 

Richard,  his  second  son,  was  invested  in  the  duchy  of 
Guienne  and  county  of  Poictou ;  GeofFery,  his  third  son, 
inherited,  in  right  of  his  wife,  the  duchy  of  Brittany ;  and 
the  new  conquest  of  Ireland  was  destined  for  the  appa- 
nage of  John,  his  fourth  son.  But  this  exaltation  of  his 
family  excited  the  jealousy  of  all  his  neighbours,  who  made 
those  very  sons,  whose  fortunes  he  had  so  anxiously  esta- 
blished, the  means  of  embittering  his  future  life,  and  dis- 
turbing his  government. 

Young  Henry  had  been  persuaded  by  Lewis  of  France, 
that  by  the  ceremony  of  coronation,  in  the  life  of  his 
father,  he  was  entitled  to  sovereignty.  In  consequence  of 
these  extravagant  ideas,  he  desired  the  king  to  resign  to 
him  either  the  crown  of  England,  or  the  duchy  of  Nor- 
mandy ;  and  on  the  king  refusing  to  grant  his  request,  he 
fled  to  Paris.  Whilst  Henry  was  alarmed  at  this  incident, 
his  uneasiness  was  increased  by  the  conduct  of  his  queen, 
Eleanor,  who  was  not  less  troublesome  to  her  present 
husband  by  her  jealousy,  in  regard  to  fair  Rosamond  and 
others,  than  she  had  been  to  her  former  by  her  gallantries. 
She  communicated  her  discontents  to  her  two  younger 
sons,  GeofFery  and  Richard ;  persuaded  them  that  they 
were  also  entitled  to  the  present  possession  of  the  territo- 
ries which  had  been  assigned  them,  and  induced  them  to 
flee  secretly  to  the  court  of  France.  Thus  Europe  saiv 
with  astonishment  three  boys,  scarcely  arrived  at  puberty, 
pretend  to  dethrone  their  father,  a  monarch  in  the  full 
vigour  of  his  age,  and  plenitude  of  his  power. 

The  king  of  England  was  obliged  to  seek  for  auxiliaries 
in  the  tribes  of  banditti,  who,  under  the  name  of  Braban- 
<;ons,  or  Cottereaux,  proffered  their  swords  to  the  most 
liberal  employer.  At  the  head  of  twenty  thousand  of  these 
hardy  and  lawless  ruffians,  and  the  few  troops  that  he  had 
brought  from  Ireland,  he  attacked  and  defeated  the  French 
army,  and  crushed  the  insurgents  in  Brittany.  He  con- 
tinued his  negotiations  in  the  midst  of  victory,  and  offered 
to  his  undutiful  sons  the  most  liberal  terms ;  but  these 
were  rejected  by  the  confederates,  who  depended  on  the 
league  they  had  concerted  with  the  king  of  Scotland,  and 
several  of  the  most  powerful  barons  of  England. 

In  consequence  of  that  league,  the  king  of  Scotland 
broke  into  the  northern  provinces  with  a  great  army  of 
eighty  thousand  men;  and  Henry,  who  had  baffled  all  his 
5* 


54  ,  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND* 

enemies  in  France,  and  had  put  his  frontiers  in  a  posture 
of  defence,  now  found  England  the  seat  of  danger.  He 
landed  at  Southampton ;  and  knowing  the  influence  of 
superstition  over  the  minds  of  the  people,  he  hastened  to 
Canterbury,  in  order  to  make  atonement  to  the  canonized 
ashes  of  Thomas  a  Becket.  As  soon  as  he  came  within 
sight  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  he  dismounted,  walked 
barefoot  towards  it,  prostrated  himself  before  the  shrine 
of  the  saint,  remained  in  fasting  and  prayer  during  a 
whole  day,  and  watched  all  night  the  holy  relicks.  He 
also  assembled  a  chapter  of  the  monks,  disrobed  himself 
before  them,  put  a  scourge  of  discipline  into  the  hands  of 
each,  and  presented  his  bare  shoulders  to  the  lashes  which 
these  ecclesiastics  inflicted  upon  him.  Next  day  he  re- 
ceived absolution  ;  and  departing  for  London,  soon  after 
received  the  agreeable  intelligence  of  a  great  victory 
which  his  generals  had  obtained  over  the  Scots,  in  which 
William  their  king  was  taken  prisoner,  and  which  being 
gained,  as  was  reported,  on  the  very  day  of  his  absolution, 
was  regarded  as  the  earnest  of  his  final  reconciliation  with 
Heaven  and  with  Thomas  a  Becket. 

This  victory  was  decisive  in  favour  of  Henry,  and  en- 
tirely broke  the  spirit  of  the  English  rebels.  In  a  few 
weeks  all  England  was  restored  to  tranquility.  Lewis, 
the  king  of  France,  was  obliged  to  consent  to  a  cessation 
of  arms,  and  engaged  with  sincerity  in  a  treaty  of  peace ; 
and  Henry,  after  granting  to  his  sons  much  less  favourable 
terms  than  he  had  formerly  offered,  received  their  submis- 
sions. It  cost  the  king  of  Scots  the  ancient  independency 
of  his  crown,  as  the  price  of  his  liberty.  William  stipu- 
lated to  do  homage  to  Henry  for  Scotland  and  all  his  other 
possessions  ;  and  the  English  monarch  engaged  the  king 
and  states  of  Scotland  to  make  a  perpetual  cession  of  the 
fortresses  of  Berwick  and  Roxbury,  and  to  allow  the  cas- 
tle of  Edinburgh  to  remain  in  his  hands  for  a  limited  time. 
This  was  the  first  great  ascendant  which  England  had 
over  Scotland  ;  and  indeed  the  first  important  transaction 
between  the  kingdoms. 

A  few  years  after,  Henry  found  his  eldest  son  again  en- 
gaged in  conspiracies,  and  readv  to  take  arms  against  him. 
But  while  the  young  prince  was  conducting  these  intrigues, 
he  was  seized  with  a  fever  at  Martel,  a  castle  near  T\\* 


RICHARD  r.  55 

renne,  where  he  died  full  of  remorse  for  his  undutiful  be- 
haviour to  his  father.  »  Mlfc 

A  crusade  had  been  once  more  projected ;  but  Philip, 
who  filled  the  throne  of  France,  and  was  jealous  of  Hen- 
ry's power,  entered  into  a  private  confederacy  with  young 
Richard.  Philip  demanded  that  Richard  should  be  crown- 
ed king  of  England,  be  immediately  invested  with  all  his 
father's  transmarine  dominions,  and  espouse  Alice,  Philip's 
sister,  to  whom  he  had  been  already  affianced.  Henry 
refused  to  accede  to  these  stipulations ;  but  experiencing 
a  reverse  of  fortune,  he  was  at  length  obliged  to  submit 
to  the  rigorous  terms  Which,  under  the  mediation  of  the 
duke  of  Burgundy,  were  offered  to  him. 

The  mortification,  however,  which  Henry  endured  on 
this  occasion,  was  increased  by  discovering  that  his  fourth 
son,  John,  who  had  ever  been  his  favourite,  had  secretly 
entered  into  the  unnatural  confederacy  which  Richard  had 
formed  against  him.  The  unhappy  father,  already  over- 
loaded with  cares  and  sorrows,  finding  this  last  disappoint- 
ment in  his  domestic  tenderness,  broke  out  into  expres- 
sions of  the  utmost  despair,  cursed  the  day  on  which  he 
received  his  miserable  being,  and  bestowed  on  his  ungrate- 
ful and  undutiful  children  a  malediction  which  he  could 
never  be  prevailed  on  to  retract.  The  agitation  of  his 
mind  threw  him  into  a  lingering  fever,  of  which  he  ex- 
pired at  the  castle  of  Chinon,  near  Saumur,  in  the  fifty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-fifth  of  his  reign ; 
and  he  was  buried  at  Fontervrault. 

Henry  was  the  greatest  prince  of  his  time  for  wisdom 
and  abilities,  and  the  most  powerful,  in  extent  of  domi- 
nion, of  all  that  had  filled  the  throne  of  England.  His 
character,  in  private  as  well  as  in  public  life,  is  almost 
without  a  blemish ;  and  he  seems  to  have  possessed  every 
accomplishment,  both  of  body  and  mind,  which  renders  a 
man  either  estimable  or  amiable.  He  loved  peace,  but 
possessed  both  bravery  and  abilities  in  war ;  he  was  pro- 
vident without  timidity ;  severe  in  the  execution  of  justice 
without  rigour ;  and  temperate  without  austerity. 

The  remorse  of  Richard  for  his  undutiful  behaviour 
towards  his  father,  influenced  him  in  the  choice  of 
his  servants  after  his  succession.     Those  who  had  tigo 
favoured  his  rebellion  were  on  all  occasions  treated 
with  disregard  and  contempt,  whilst  the  faithful  ministers 


56  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

of  Henry,  who  had  opposed  the  enterprises  of  his  sons. 
^  **  were  continued  in  those  offices  which  they  had  honoura- 
"    *  bly  discharged  to  their  former  master. 

The  love  of  military  glory  impelled  the  king  to  act,  from 
the  beginning  of  his  reign,  as  if  the  sole  purpose  of  his 
government  had  been  the  relief  of  the  Holy  Land,  and 
the  recovery  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Saracens.  This  zeal 
against  infidels,  being  communicated  to  his  subjects,  broke 
out  in  London  on  the  day  of  his  coronation ;  when  some 
Jews,  who  had  presumed,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  the 
king,  to  approach  the  hall  in  which  he  dined,  were  dragged 
forth,  and  put  to  death,  and  vengeance  fell  on  their  inno- 
cent brethren.  Instantly,  their  houses  were  broken  open, 
their  effects  plundered,  and  themselves  slaughtered.  The 
inhabitants  of  other  cities  followed  the  example  of  the  peo- 
ple of  London  ;  and  in  York,  five  hundred  Jews,  who  had 
retired  into  the  castle,  finding  themselves  unable  to  defend 
it,  murdered  their  own  wives  and  children,  and,  setting  fire 
to  the  house,  perished  in  the  flames. 

Richard,  regardless  of  every  other  consideration  than 
the  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land,  endeavoured  to  obtain 
supplies  for  the  exigencies  of  so  perilous  a  war,  by  every 
expedient  which  he  could  devise.  He  put  to  sale  the  reve- 
nues and  manors  of  the  crown,  and  the  offices  of  greatest 
trust  and  power.  He  yielded  up  for  ten  thousand  marks 
the  vassalage  of  Scotland,  with  the  fortresses  of  Roxbo- 
rough  and  Berwick.  He  even  declared,  that  he  would 
sell  London  itself,  could  he  find  a  purchaser.  He  left  the 
administration  in  the  hands  of  Hugh,  bishop  of  Durham, 
and  of  Longchamp,  bishop  of  Ely;  and,  accompanied  by 
all  the  military  and  ffery  spirits  of  the  kingdom,  set  out 
for  the  frontiers  of  Burgundy,  where  he  had  engaged  to 
meet  the  French  king. 

In  the  plains  of  Vezelay,  Richard  and  Philip  reviewed 
their  forces,  and  found  their  combined  army  amount  to 
one  hundred  thousand  men;  and  after  repeating  their 
vows  of  friendship  to  each  other,  they  separated,  Richard 
embarking  at  Marseilles,  and  Philip  at  Genoa.  They 
reached  Messina  about  the  same  time,  a*nd  passed  the 
winter  in  Sicily,  where  several  quarrels  broke  out  between 
the  troops  of  the  different  nations ;  and  these  were  com- 
municated to  the  two  kings,  who,  however,  waiving  imme- 
diate jealousies,  proceeded  to  the  Holy  Land* 


RICHARD  1.  57 

The  English  army  arrived  in  time  to  partake  in  the 
siege  of  Acre  or  Ptolemais,  which  had  been  attacked  for 
more  than  two  years  by  the  united  force  of  all  the  chris- 
tians in  Palestine.  The  siege  of  Acre  was  pressed  with 
redoubled  ardour ;  but  the  harmony  of  the  chiefs  was  of 
short  duration.  The  opposite  views  of  Richard  and  Philip 
produced  faction  and  dissention  in  the  christian  army,  and 
retarded  all  its  operations.  But  as  the  length  of  the  siege 
had  reduced  the  Saracen  garrison  to  the  last  extremity, 
they  surrendered  themselves  prisoners ;  and  the  gates  of 
Acre  were  opened  to  the  conquerors. 

On  the  surrender  of  this  place,  Philip,  disgusted  with 
the  ascendancy  acquired  by  Richard,  declared  his  resolu- 
tion of  returning  to  France,  under  the  plea  of  a  bad  state 
of  health.  He  left,  however,  to  the  king  of  England,  ten 
thousand  of  his  troops,  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of 
Burgundy,  and  engaged  by  oath  not  to  commence  hostili- 
ties against  that  prince's  dominions  during  his  absence ; 
but  he  no  sooner  reached  home,  than  he  proceeded,  though 
secretly,  in  a  project  which  the  present  situation  of  Eng- 
land rendered  inviting. 

Immediately  after  Richard  had  left  England,  the  two 
prelates,  whom  he  had  appointed  guardians  of  the  realm, 
broke  out  into  animosities  against  each  other,  and  threw 
the  kingdom  into  confusion.  Longchamp,  naturally  pre- 
sumptuous, and  armed  with  the  legatine  commission,  hesi- 
tated not  to  arrest  his  colleague,  the  bishop  of  Durham, 
and  governed  the  kingdom  by  his  sole  authority.  At 
length,  he  had  the  temerity  to  throw  into  prison  Geoffrey, 
archbishop  of  York.  This  breach  of  ecclesiastical  privi- 
leges excited  such  an  universal  ferment,  that  prince  John 
summoned  the  guardian  before  a  council  of  the  nobility 
and  prelates.  Longchamp,  conscious  of  his  error,  fled 
beyond  sea,  and  was  deprived  of  his  offices  *of  chancellor 
and  chief  justiciary ;  but  his  commission  of  legate  still 
enabled  him  to  disturb  the  government.  Philip  not  only 
promoted  his  intrigues,  but  entered  into  a  corres- 
pondence with  John,  to  whom  he  promised  his  sis-  1 1  q^J 
ter  Alice  in  marriage,  and  the  possession  of  all 
Richard's  transmarine  dominions.  John  was  with  diffi- 
culty deterred  from  this  enterprise  by  the  vigilance  of  his 
mother,  and  the  menaces  of  the  council. 

The  jealousy  of  Philip  was  excited  by  the  glory  which 


58  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  actions  of  Richard  gained  him  in  the  east.  The  king 
of  England  obtained  a  complete  victory  over  the  Saracens, 
of  whom  forty  thousand  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the 
field  of  battle  ;  he  recovered  Ascalon,  and  advanced  within 
sight  of  Jerusalem,  the  object  of  his  enterprise  ;  but  long 
absence,  fatigue,  disease,  and  want,  had  abated  the  ardour 
of  the  crusaders.  Every  one,  except  the  king  of  England, 
expressed  a  desire  of  returning  into  Europe.  Richard 
was  forced  to  yield  to  their  importunities ;  and  he  con- 
cluded a  truce  with  Saladin,  by  which  the  christians  were 
left  in  possession  of  Acre,  Joppa,  and  other  sea-port  towns 
of  Palestine,  and  were  allowed  a  free  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

As  Richard  was  acquainted  with  the  intrigues  of  Philip, 
he  ventured  not  to  pass  through  France  on  his  return,  but 
sailed  to  the  Adriatic  ;  and  being  shipwrecked  near  Aqui- 
leia,  he  put  on  the  disguise  of  a  pilgrim,  and  endeavoured 
to  pursue  his  route  through  Germany.  At  Vienna  he  was 
arrested  by  orders  of  Leopold,  duke  of  Austria,  and  by  him 
he  was  sold  to  the  emperor  Henry  VI.,  who  affected  to 
consider  him  as  an  enemy,  on  account  of  an  alliance  which 
he  had  contracted  with  Tancred,  king  of  Sicily.  Thus 
Richard,  who  had  filled  the  world  with  his  renown,  was 
confined  in  a  dungeon,  and  loaded  with  irons. 

The  king  of  France  prepared  to  avail  himself  of  his 
misfortunes.  Philip  entered  into  negotiations  with 
1 1  q*|  Prince  John,  who  stipulated  to  deliver  to  the  king 
of  France  a  great  part  of  Normandy,  and  received, 
in  return,  the  investiture  of  all  Richard's  transmarine  do- 
minions. In  consequence  of  this  treaty,  Philip  invaded 
Normandy,  and  by  the  treachery  of  John's  adherents  over- 
ran a  great  part  of  it ;  but  he  was  repulsed  from  the  walls 
of  Rouen,  by  the  gallantry  of  the  earl  of  Leicester.  Prince 
John  was  not  more  successful  in  his  attempt  in  England  : 
though  he  made  himself  master  of  the  castles  of  Windsor 
and  Wallingford,  yet  finding  the  barons  every  where  averse 
to  his  cause,  he  was  obliged  to  retire  again  to  France. 

In  the  mean  time,  Richard,  in  Germany,  suffered  every 
kind  of  insult  and  indignity ;  he  was  accused  by  Henry, 
before  the  diet  of  the  empire,  of  making  an  alliance  with 
Tancred,  the  usurper  of  Sicily ;  of  affronting  the  duke  ol 
Austria  before  Acre ;  of  obstructing  the  progress  of  the 
christian  arms  by  his  quarrels  with  the  king  of  France  j 


RICHARD  I.  59 

and  of  concluding  a  truce  with  Saladin,  and  leaving  Jeru- 
salem in  the  hands  of  the  Saracen  emperor.  Richard, 
after  deigning  to  apologise  for  his  conduct,  burst  out  into 
indignation  at  the  cruel  treatment  which  he  had  met  with ; 
and  the  emperor,  finding  it  impracticable  to  detain  the 
king  of  England  longer  in  captivity,  agreed  to  restore  him 
to  his  freedom  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand marks,  or  about  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
our  present  money. 

The  joy  of  the  English  was  extreme  on  the  appearance 
of  their  monarch,  who  was  crowned  anew  at  Winchester, 
as  if  to  wipe  off  the  ignominy  of  captivity.  As  soon  as 
Philip  heard  of  the  king's  deliverance,  he  wrote  to  his 
confederate  John  in  these  terms :  "  take  care  of  yourself— - 
the  devil  is  broken  loose."  John,  however,  anxious  to 
disengage  himself  from  an  associate  whose  fortunes  seem- 
ed declining,  threw  himself  at  his  brother's  feet,  and  im- 
plored his  mercy.  "I  forgive  you,"  said  the  king,  "  and 
hope  I  shall  as  easily  forget  your  injuries,  as  you  will  my 
pardon." 

The  king  of  France  was  the  great  object  of  Richard's 
resentment  and  animosity ;  and  during  five  years  after  the 
king's  return,  the  two  sovereigns  were  engaged  in  a  series 
of  faithless  negotiations  and  desultory  warfare.  The  car- 
dinal of  St.  Mary,  the  pope's  legate,  was  employed  in 
changing  a  truce  into  a  durable  peace,  when  the  death  of 
Richard  put  an  end  to  the  negotiation. 

Vidomer,  viscount  of  Limoges,  having  found  a  treasure, 
it  was  claimed  by  Richard,  as  his  superior  lord ;  and  that 
nobleman  was  besieged  by  the  king  in  the  castle  of  Cha- 
lons. As  Richard  approached  to  survey  the  works,  one 
Bertrand  de  Gourdon,  an  archer,  pierced  his  shoulder  with 
an  arrow.  The  wound  was  not  dangerous ;  but  the  un- 
skilfulness  of  the  surgeon  rendered  it  mortal.  The  king, 
sensible  that  his  end  was  approaching,  sent  for  Gourdon, 
and  said,  "  wretch,  what  have  I  liter  done  to  you,  to  in- 
duce you  to  seek  my  life  V1  The  prisoner  coolly  replied, 
"  you  killed  with  your  own  hands  my  father  and  my  two 
brothers :  I  am  now  in  your  power,  and  you  may  take 
revenge,  by  inflicting  on  me  the  most  severe  torments ; 
but  I  shall  endure  them  with  pleasure,  provided  I  casi 
think  that  I  have  been  so  happy  as  to  rid  the  world"  from 
such  a  nuisance."     The  mind  of  Richard  was  softened  by 


60  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  near  approach  of  death,  and  the  magnanimity  of  Gour- 
don ;  he  ordered  him  to  be  set  at  liberty,  and  a  sum  of 
money  to  be  given  him  ;  but  Marcadee,  one  of  Richard's 
generals,  privately  seized  the  unhappy  man,  flaye<}  him 
alive,  and  then  hanged  him. 

Thus  died  Richard,  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  and 
the  forty-second  of  his  age.  The  most  shining  parts  of 
his  character  are  his  military  talents,  and  his  personal 
courage,  which  gained  him  the  appellation  of  "  Coeur  de 
Lion,"  or  "  the  Lion-hearted."  He  was,  however,  a  pas- 
sionate lover  of  poetry ;  and  some  poetical  works  of  his 
composition  are  still  extant.  He  left  behind  him  no  issue ; 
and  by  his  last  will,  he  declared  his  brother  John  heir  to 
all  his  dominions,  though  by  a  formal  deed  before  he  em- 
barked for  the  Holy  Land,  he  had  named  as  his  successor, 
his  nephew  Arthur,  duke  of  Brittany,  the  son  of  Geoffrey, 
elder  brother  of  John,  who  was  now  only  twelve  years  of  age. 

The  barons  of  the  transmarine  provinces,  Anjou,  Maine, 
and  Touraine,  declared  in  favour  of  Arthur,  and 
iiqq  applied  for  assistance  to  the  French  monarch. 
IJhilip,  who  desired  only  an  occasion  to  embarrass 
John,  and  to  dismember  his  dominions,  embraced  the 
cause  of  the  young  duke  of  Brittany.  John,  after  being 
acknowledged  in  Normandy  and  England,  returned  to 
France,  in  order  to  conduct  the  war  against  Philip.  No- 
thing enabled  the  king  to  bring  matters  to  a  happy  issue 
so  much  as  the  selfish  and  intriguing  character  of  the 
French  monarch.  Constantia,  the  mother  of  Arthur,  was 
jealous  that  Philip  intended  to  usurp  the  entire  dominion 
of  the  provinces  which  had  declared  for  her  son.  She, 
therefore,  secretly  carried  off  her  son  from  Paris,  put  him 
into  the  hands  of  his  uncle,  restored  the  provinces  which 
had  adhered  to  him,  and  made  him  do  homage  for  the 
duchy  of  Brittany,  which  was  regarded  as  a  fief  of  Nor- 
mandy. As  Philip,  after  this  incident,  saw  that  he  could 
not  carry  on  the  war  with  success,  he  entered  into  a  treaty 
with  John,  in  which  the  limits  of  their  territories  were  ad- 
justed ;  and,  to  render  their  union  more  permanent,  the 
king  of  England  gave  his  niece,  Blanche  of  Castile,  in 
marriage  to  prince  Louis,  Philip's  eldest  son,  and  with 
her  the  baronies  of  Issoudun  and  Gracai,  and  other  fiefs 
in  Berri. 

Thus  secure,  as  he  imagined,  on  the  side  of  France, 


her  by      ft 

a.  d.    «r^ 

1201      / 


JOHN.  61 

John  indulged  his  passion  for  Isabella,  the  daughter 
of  the  count  of  Angouleme,  a  lady  with  whom  he  |o*wj 
had  become  much  enamoured.     Though  his  queen, 
the  heiress  of  the  family  of  Gloucester,  was  still  alive,  and 
Isabella  was  betrothed  to  the  count  of  Marche,  the  passion 
of  the  king  overcame  every  obstacle  ;  he  persuaded  the 
count  of  Angouleme  to  cany  off  his  daughter  from  her 
husband ;  and  having  procured  a  divorce  from  his  wife, 
he  espoused  Isabella,  regardless  of  the  menaces  of  the 
people,  and  of  the  resentment  of  the  injured  count. 

John  had  not  the  art  of  attaching  his  barons  either 
affection  or  by  fear.  The  count  of  Marche  taking 
advantage  of  the  general  discontent  against  him,  ^>nV 
excited  commotions  in  Poictou  and  Normandy, 
and  obliged  the  king  to  have  recourse  to  arms  in  order  to 
suppress  the  insurrection  of  his  vassals.  He  summoned 
together  the  barons  of  England,  and  required  them  to  pass 
the  sea  under  his  standard,  and  to  quell  the  rebels ;  but 
he  found  that  he  possessed  as  little  authority  in  that  king- 
dom as  in  his  transmarine  provinces.  The  English  ba- 
rons unanimously  replied,  that  they  would  not  attend  him 
on  this  expedition,  unless  he  would  promise  to  restore  and 
preserve  their  privileges;  but  John,  by  menaces,  engaged 
many  of  them  to  follow  him  into  Normandy,  and  obliged 
the  rest  to  pay  the  price  of  their  exemption  from  service. 
The  force  which  the  king  carried  with  him,  and  that 
which  joined  him  in  Normandy,  rendered  him  greatly  su- 
perior to  the  malcontents  ;  but,  elated  with  his  superiority, 
he  advanced  claims  which  gave  an  universal  alarm  to  his 
vassals,  and  diffused  still  wider  the  general  discontent. 
The  king  of  France,  to  whom  the  complainants  appealed 
for  redress,  interposed  in  behalf  of  the  French  barons. 

Whilst  matters  were  thus  circumstanced,  the  duke  of 
Brittany,  who  was  rising  to  man's  estate,  joined  the  king 
of  France  and  the  revolted  nobles.  Impatient  of  military 
renown,  the  young  prince  had  entered  Poictou  with  a  small 
army,  and  had  invested  Mirabeau,  in  which  was  his  grand- 
mother, queen  Eleanor,  when  John  attacked  his  camp,  dis- 
persed his  army,  and  took  him  prisoner.  The  king  repre- 
sented to  Arthur  the  folly  of  his  pretensions,  and  required 
him  to  renounce  the  French  alliance;  but  the  brave,  though 
imprudent  youth,  maintained  the  justice  of  his  cause,  and 
asserted  his  claim  not  only  to  the  French  provinces,  but  to 
6 


62  HISTORY  OP    ENGLAND. 

the  crown  of  England.  John,  sensible,  from  these  symp- 
toms of  spirit,  that  the  young  prince  might  hereafter  prove 
a  dangerous  rival,  ordered  him  to  be  despatched ;  but  when  | 
he  found  that  his  commands  had  not  been  obeyed,  the  cruel 
tyrant  stabbed  him  with  his  own  hands,  and  fastening  a 
stone  to  the  dead  body,  threw  it  into  the  Seine. 

All  men  were  struck  with  horror  at  this  inhuman  deed  ; 
and  from  that  moment  the  king,  who  was  now  detested  by 
his  subjects,  retained  a  very  precarious  authority  over  both 
the  people  and  the  barons  in  his  dominions.  As  John 
had  got  into  his  power  his  niece  Eleanor,  sister  to  Arthur, 
the  Bretons  chose  for  their  sovereign  Alice,  a  younger 
*  daughter  of  Constantia,  by  a  second  marriage.  They  also 
solicited  the  assistance  of  Philip,  who  received  their  appli- 
cation with  pleasure,  summoned  John  to  a  trial,  and  on 
his  non-appearance,  declared  him  to  have  forfeited  to  his 
superior  lord  all  his  fiefs  in  France. 

The  king  of  France  perceived  the  opportunity  favoura- 
ble for  expelling  the  English,  or  rather  the  English  king, 
and  of  re-annexing  to  the  French  crown  so  many  conside- 
rable appendages,  of  which,  during  several  ages,  it  had 
been  dismembered.  Philip  extended  his  conquests  along 
the  banks  of  the  Loire,  while  John  consumed  his  hours  at 
Rouen  in  pastimes  and  amusements.  "  Let  the  French 
go  on,"  said  he,  "  I  will  retake  in  a  day  what  it  has  cost 
them  years  to  acquire."  Yet,  instead  of  fulfilling  this 
vaunt,  he  meanly  applied  to  the  pope,  Innocent  III.,  who 
ordered  Philip  to  stop  the  progress  of  his  arms,  and  to 
conclude  a  peace  with  the  king  of  England.  Philip, 
however,  instead  of  obeying  the  orders  of  the  pope,  laid 
siege  to  Chateau  Gaillard,  the  most  considerable  fortress 
en  the  frontiers  of  Normandy,  which  was  taken  by  a  sud- 
den assault  in  the  night.  When  the  bulwark  of  Nor- 
mandy was  once  subdued,  the  whole  province  was  open 
to  the  inroads  of  Philip.  The  French  king  proceeded  to 
invest  Rouen,  the  inhabitants  of  which  demanded  thirty 
days  to  advertise  their  prince  of  their  danger.  Upon  the 
expiration  of  that  term  they  opened  their  gates ;  and 
Philip,  leading  his  victorious  army  into  the  western  pro- 
vinces, soon  reduced  Anjou,  Maine,  Touraine,  and  part 
of  Poictou.  John  made  a  feeble  attempt  to  recover  his 
transmarine  dominions,  by  landing  a  considerable  army 
at  Rochelle ;  but  the  approach  of  Philip  threw  him  into  a 


Death  of  Prince  Arthur. 


John's  submission  to  the  Pope. 


JOHN.  63 

panic,  and  he  deserted  his  troops,  and  returned  to  England 
with  shame  and  disgrace.  The  mediation  of  the  pope 
procured  him  a  truce  for  two  years  with  the  French 
monarch ;  but  almost  all  the  transmarine  provinces  were 
wrested  from  him  ;  and  the  ehurcfc,  which,  at  that  time, 
declined  not  a  contest  with .]&§>  most  powerful  monarchs, 
took  advantage  of  John's  imbecility. 

Innocent  the  Third,  a  prelate  of  a  lofty  and  enterpri- 
sing genius,  attempted  to  convert  the  superiority 
yielded  him  by  all  the  European  princes  into  a  real  ,  ^n-v 
dominion  over  them.  A  dispute  respecting  an 
election  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  afforded  Innocent  an 
opportunity  of  claiming  a  right  to  nominate  the  primate 
of  England.  Availing  himself  of  this  opportunity,  he 
commanded  the  monks  or  canons  of  Christ-church,  who 
had  hitherto  possessed  that  important  privilege,  to  choose, 
on  pain  of  excommunication,  cardinal  Langton,  an  Eng- 
lishman by  birth,  but  connected  by  interest  and  attach- 
ment to  the  see  of  Rome.  In  vain  the  monks  represented, 
that  an  election,  without  a  previous  writ  from  the  king, 
would  be  highly  irregular;  and  that  they  were'  merely 
agents  for  another  person,  whose  right  they  could  not 
abandon.  One  only  persevered  in  this  opposition  ;  the 
rest,  overcome  by  the  menaces  and  authority  of  the  pope, 
complied  with  his  mandate. 

John  was  inflamed  with  the  utmost  rage  when  he  heard 
of  this  interference  of  the  court  of  Rome  ;  and  he  imme- 
diately vented  his  passion  on  the  monks  of  Christ-churcn, 
whom  he  expelled  the  monastery.  When  it  was  intimated 
to  him  that  if  he  persevered  in  his  disobedience,  the  sove- 
reign pontiff  would  be  obliged  to  lay  the  kingdom  under 
an  interdict,  the  king  burst  out  into  violent  invectives,  and 
swore  if  the  pope  attempted  such  a  measure,  that  he  would 
send  to  him  all  the  bishops  and  clergv  in  England,  and 
confiscate  all  their  estates.  These  sallies  of  passion,  how- 
ever, were  disregarded  by  the  Roman  pontiff,  who,  sensi- 
ble that  John  had  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people,  at 
length  fulminated  the  sentence  of  interdict. 

The  execution  of  this  sentence  was  calculated  to  strike 
with  awe  the  minds  of  a  superstitious  people.  The  nation 
was  of  a  sudden  deprived  of  all  exterior  exercise  of  its  re- 
ligion ;  the  altars  were  despoiled  of  their  ornaments ;  the 
dead  were  not  interred  in  consecrated  ground,  but  were 


64  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

thrown  into  ditches,  or  buried  in  common  fields ;  marriage 
was  solemnized  in  the  church-yards ;  and  every  circum- 
stance carried  symptoms  of  the  most  immediate  appre- 
hension of  divine  vengeance. 

The  king,  that  he  might  oppose  his  temporal  to  their 
spiritual  terrors,  confiscated  the  estates  of  all  the  clergy 
who  obeyed  the  interdict ;  and  treated  with  the  utmost  i 
rigour  the  adherents  of  the  church  of  Rome.  Though 
some  of  the  clergy,  from  the  dread  of  punishment,  obeyed 
the  orders  of  John,  and  celebrated  divine  service,  yet  they 
complied  with  the  utmost  reluctance,  and  were  regarded, 
both  by  themselves  and  the  people,  as  men  who  betrayed 
their  principles,  and  sacrificed  their  conscience  to  their 
fears  or  their  interests. 

As  the  interdict  had  not  reduced  the  king  to  obedience, 
and  the  people  had  not  risen  in  rebellion,  the  court 
120Q  °^  ^ome  determined  to  proceed  to  excommunica- 
tion. John  was  now  alarmed  at  his  dangerous 
situation,  tn  a  conference  at  Dover,  he  offered  to  ac- 
knowledge Langton  as  primate,  to  submit  to  the  pope,  and 
to  restore  the  exiled  clergy ;  but  Langton  demanding  the 
full  reparation  for  the  rents  of  their  confiscated  estates', 
the  king  broke  off  the  conference.  Innocent  immediately 
absolved  John's  subjects  from  their  oaths  of  fidelity  and 
allegiance  ;  declared  every  one  excommunicated  who  held 
any  intercourse  with  him  ;  deposed  him  from  his  throne ; 
and  offered  the  crown  of  England  to  the  king  of  France. 
~~~ftnlip  was  seduced  by  interest  to  accept  this  offer  of  the 
pontiff.  He  levied  a  great  army,  and  collected  in  the  ports 
of  Normandy  and  Picardy  a  fleet  of  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  vessels.  To  oppose  him,  John  assembled  at 
Dover  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men ;  a  force  sufficient, 
had  they  been  animated  with  zeal ;  but  the  minds  of  the 
common  people  were  impressed  with  superstition  ;  the 
barons  were  all  disgusted  with  the  tyranny  of  the  king ; 
and  the  incapacity  and  cowardice  of  John  augmented  his 
difficulties.  The  obstinacy  of  the  humbled  monarch  at 
length  gave  way,  when  Pandolf,  the  pope's  legate,  repre- 
sented to  him  the  certainty  of  his  ruin,  from  the  disaffec- 
tion of  his  subjects,  and  the  mighty  aruament  of  France. 
John  now  agreed  to  all  the  conditions  which  Pandolf  was 
pleased  to  impose.  He  passed  a  charter,  in  which  he  de- 
clared he  had,  for  the  remission  of  his  own  sins,  and  those 


JOHN.  Q5 

of  his  family,  resigned  England  and  Ireland  to  God,  to 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  to  pope  Innocent  and  his  suc- 
cessors in  the  apostolic  chair ;  agreeing  to  hold  those  domi- 
nions as  feudatories  of  the  church  of  Rome,  by  the  annual 
payment  of  a  thousand  marks.  He  did  homage  to  Pan- 
dolf  in  the  most  abject  manner :  he  fell  on  his  knees  be- 
fore the  legate,  who  was  seated  on  the  throne ;  swore  fealty 
to  the  pope ;  and  paid  part  of  the  money  which  he  owed 
for  his  kingdom  as  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter ;  whilst  the 
legate,  elated  by  the  triumph  of  sacerdotal  power,  tram- 
pled on  the  money  which  was  laid  at  his  feet,  as  an  earnest 
of  the  subjection  of  the  kingdom. 

When  Pandolf  returned. to  France,  he  informed  Philip, 
that  John  had  returned  to  obedience  under  the  apostolic 
see,  and  even  consented  to  do  homage  to  the  pope  for  his 
dominions ;  and  that,  as  his  kingdom  now  formed  a  part 
of  St.  Peter's  patrimony,  it  would  be  impious  in  any  chris- 
tian prince  to  attack  him.  Philip  was  enraged  on  recei- 
ving this  intelligence,  and  threatened  to  execute  his  enter- 
prise against  England,  notwithstanding  the  inhibitions  and 
menaces  of  the  legate ;  but  the  English  fleet,  under  the 
command  of  the  earl  of  Salisbury,  the  king's  natural  bro- 
ther, attacked  the  French  in  their  harbours,  and  by  the 
destruction  of  the  greater  part  of  their  armament,  com-  / 
pelled  Philip  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  ~*\ ' 

The  introduction  of  the  feudal  system  into  England  by 
William  the  conqueror,  had  infringed  on  the  liberties  en- 
joyed by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  had  reduced  the  people 
to  a  state  of  vassalage,  and  in  some  respects  of  real  slave- 
ry, to  the  king  or  barons.  The  necessity,  also,  of  entrust- 
ing great  power  in  the  hands  of  a  prince,  who  was  to  main- 
tain military  dominion  over  a  vanquished  nation,  had  en- 
gaged the  Norman  barons  to  submit  to  a  more  severe  and 
absolute  prerogative,  than  that  to  which  men  of  their  rank 
were  commonly  subjected  ;  and  England,  during  a  course 
of  an  hundred  and  fifty  years,  was  governed  by  an  autho- 
rity unknown,  in  the  same  degree,  to  all  the  kingdoms 
founded  by  the  northern  conquerors.  Henry  the  first,  that 
he  might  allure  the  people  to  exclude  his  elder  brother, 
Robert,  had  granted  them  a  charter,  favourable,  in  many 
particulars,  to  their  liberties  ;  Stephen  had  renewed  the 
grant ;  Henry  the  second  had  confirmed  it ;  but  the  con- 
cessions of  all  these  princes  had  remained  a  dead  letter ; 
6* 


66  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

when  John,  equally  odious  and  contemptible,  both  in 
public  and  private  life,  provoked  the  people  to  form  a  ge- 
neral confederacy,  and  to  demand  a  restoration  of  their 
privileges. 

Nothing  forwarded  this  confederacy  so  much  as  the  con- 
currence of  Langton,  archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  a  man 
whose  memory,  though  he  was  obtruded  on  the  nation  by 
a  palpable  encroachment  of  the  see  of  Rome,  ought  always 
to  be  respected  by  the  English.  This  prelate  formed  the 
plan  of  reforming  the  government,  and  paved  the  way  for 
it,  by  inserting  a  clause  in  the  oath  which  he  administered 
to  the  king,  before  he  would  absolve  him  from  excommuni- 
cation, "  that  he  would  re-establish  the  good  laws  of  his 
predecessors,  and  abolish  the  wicked  ones,  and  maintain 
justice  and  right  in  all  his  dominions."  Soon  after  he 
showed  to  some  of  the  barons  a  copy  of  the  charter  of 
Henry  the  first,  which,  he  said,  he  had  found  in  a  monas- 
tery, and  exhorted  them  to  insist  on  its  renewal.  The  ba- 
rons swore  they  would  lose  their  lives  sooner  than  desist 
from  so  reasonable  a  demand.  The  confederacy  now 
spread  wider ;  and  a  more  numerous  meeting  was  summon- 
ed by  Langton  at  St.  Edmund's-Bury,  under  colour  of 
devotion.  The  barons,  inflamed  by  the  eloquence  of  the 
prelate,  and  incited  by  the  sense  of  their  own  wrongs,  took 
an  oath  before  the  altar,  to  adhere  to  each  other,  and  to 
make  endless  war  on  the  king,  till  he  should  grant  their 
demands.  They  agreed  that  they  would  prefer  in  a  body 
their  common  petition ;  and  that,  in  the  mean  time,  they 
would  enlist  men  and  purchase  arms,  and  supply  their  cas- 
tles with  necessary  provisions. 

On  a  day  appointed,  the  barons  appeared  in  London, 
and  required  the  king,  in  consequence  of  his  oath 
*!?'  before  the  primate,  as  well  as  in  deference  to  their 
just  rights,  to  renew  the  charter  of  Henry,  and  con- 
firm the  laws  of  St.  Edwttrd.  The  king,  alarmed  at  their 
zeal  and  unanimity,  as  well  as  their  power,  asked  for  a  de- 
lay, which  was  granted.  The  interval  was  employed  by 
John  in  appealing  to  the  pope  against  the  violence  of  the 
barons.  Innocent,  who  foresaw  that  if  the  administration 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  high-spirited  nobility,  they 
would  vindicate  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  nation, 
exhorted  the  prelates  to  employ  their  good  offices  in  put- 
ling  an  end  to  civil  discord,  expressed  his  disapprobation 


JOHN.  67 

of  the  conduct  of  the  barons,  and  advised  the  king  to  grant 
such  demands  as  should  appear  reasonable. 

Though  the  barons  perceived  that  the  pope  was  inimical 
to  their  interests,  yet  they  had  advanced  too  far  to  recede 
from  their  pretensions ;  and  they  foresaw,  that  the  thunders 
of  Rome,  when  not  seconded  by  the  efforts  of  the  Eng- 
lish ecclesiastics,  would  avail  little  against  them.  At  the 
time,  therefore,  when  they  were  to  expect  the  king's  an- 
swer to  their  petition,  they  met  at  Stamford,  and  assem- 
bled their  forces,  consisting  of  about  two  thousand  knights, 
besides  retainers  and  inferior  persons  without  number. 
Elated  with  their  power,  they  advanced  in  a  body  to  Brack- 
ley,  within  twenty  miles  of  Oxford,  the  place  where^the 
court  then  resided ;  and  where  they  received  a  message 
from  the  king,  desiring  to  know  what  those  liberties  were, 
which  they  so  zealously  required  from  their  sovereign. 
They  delivered  to  the  messenger  a  schedule,  containing 
the  chief  articles  of  their  demand  ;  which  was  no  sooner 
shown  to  John,  than  he  burst  into  a  furious  passion,  swear- 
ing he  would  never  grant  such  privileges  as  must  reduce 
himself  to  slavery. 

The  confederated  nobles,  informed  of  his  answer,  pro- 
ceeded without  farther  ceremony  to  levy  war  upon  the 
king.  They  besieged  the  castle  of  Northampton,  were 
admitted  into  that  of  Bedford,  occupied  Ware,  and  entered 
London  without  opposition.  They  laid  waste  the  royal 
parks  and  palaces ;  and  all  the  barons,  who  had  hitherto 
appeared  to  support  the  king,  openly  joined  a  cause  which 
they  had  secretly  favoured.  So  universal  was  the  defec- 
tion, that  the  king  was  left  at  Odiham,  in  Hampshire,  with 
a  retinue  of  only  seven  knights ;  and  after  trying  several 
expedients,  and  offering  to  refer  all  differences  to  the  pope, 
he  found  himself  at  last  obliged  to  yield  without  reserve. 

A  conference  between  the  king  and  the  barons  was  held 
at  Runnymede,  between  Windsor  and  Staines ;  a  place 
which  has  ever  since  been  celebrated,  on  account  of  that 
great  event.     After  a  debate  of  a  few  days,  the  king,  with 
a  facility  rather  suspicious,  signed   and   sealed  j       jq 
the  famous  deed  called  magna  charta,  or  the 
great  charter,  which  either  granted  or  secu-    \iy\k 
red   very  important  liberties  to  the  clergy,  the 
barons,  and  the  people.     The  articles  of  this  charter  con- 
tain such  mitigations  and  explanations  of  the  feudal  law 


68  /  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

as  are  reasonable  and  equitable ;  and  also  involve  all  the 
chief  outlines  of  a  legal  government,  providing  for  the  equal 
distribution  of  justice  and  the  free  enjoyment  of  property. 
The  barons  obliged  the  king  to  agree  that  London  should 
remain  in  their  hands,  and  the  Tower  be  consigned  to  the 
custody  of  the  primate,  till  the  execution  of  the  charter. 
John  also  allowed  the  confederates  to  choose  from  their 
own  body  twenty-five  members,  to  whose  authority  no 
limits  were  prescribed,  either  in  extent  or  duration.  Ml 
men  throughout  the  kingdom  were  obliged,  under  the  pe- 
nalty of  confiscation,  to  swear  obedience  to  the  twenty-five 
barons;  and  the  freeholders  of  each  county  were  to 
choose  twelve  knights,  who  should  make  reports  of  such 
evil  customs  as  required  redress,  conformably  to  the  tenor 
of  the  great  charter. 

John  apparently  submitted  to  all  these  regulations,  how- 
ever injurious  to  majesty  ;  but  he  only  awaited  a  proper 
opportunity  for  annulling  his  concessions.  He  retired  to 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  he  meditated  the  most  fatal  ven- 
geance against  his  enemies.  He  secretly  sent  his  emissa- 
ries to  enlist  foreign  troops,  and  to  invite  the  rapacious. 
Braban^ons  into  his  service ;  and  he  despatched  a  mes- 
senger to  Rome,  to  complain,  before  that  tribunal,  of  the 
violence  which  had  been  imposed  upon  him.  Innocent, 
considering  himself  as  feudal  lord  of  the  kingdom,  issued 
a  bull,  by  which  he  annulled  the  whole  charter,  as  unjust 
in  itself,  and  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  apostolic  see. 
He  prohibited  the  barons  from  exacting  the  observance  of 
it ;  he  prohibited  the  king  from  paying  any  regard  to  it ; 
and  he  pronounced  a  general  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion against  every  one  who  should  persevere  in  maintain- 
ing such  iniquitous  proceedings. 

As  the  foreign  forces  arrived  along  with  this  bull,  the 
king,  under  the  sanction  of  the  pope's  decree,*  threw  off 
the  mask.  The  barons,  enticed  into  a  fatal  security,  had 
taken  no  rational  measures  for  re-assembling  their  armies. 
The  king  was  master  of  the  field ;  his  rapacious  mercena- 
ries were  let  loose  against  the  estates,  the  tenants,  the 
houses,  and  parks  of  the  nobility ;  nothing  was  to  be  seen 
but  the  flames  of  villages,  and  castles  reduced  to  ashes, 

*  To  the  honour  of  Langton,  the  primate,  he  refttsed  to  publish 
the  papal  mandate. 


JOHN. 


the  consternation  and  misery  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
tortures  exercised  by  the  soldiers  to  cause  them  to  reveal 
their  concealed  treasures.  The  king,  marching  through 
the  whole  extent  of  England,  from  Dover  to  Berwick,  laid 
the  provinces  waste  on  each  side  of  him,  and  considered 
every  part  of  the  country,  which  was  not  his  immediate  pro- 
perty, as  hostile,  and  the  object  of  military  execution. 

The  barons,  reduced  to  this  desperate  extremity,  em- 
ployed a  remedy  no  less  desperate.     They  applied 
to  the  court  of  France,  and  offered  to  acknowledge  ^i  q 
Lewis,  the  eldest  son  of  Philip,  as  their  sovereign, 
provided  he  would  protect  them  from  the  violence  of  the 
tyrant.     The  prospect  of  such  a  prize  rendered  Philip  re- 
gardless of  the  menaces  of  the  court  of  Rome,  which  threat- 
ened him  with  excommunication  if  he  attacked  a  prince 
under  the  protection  of  the  holy  see ;  but  he  refused  to 
intrust  his  son  and  heir  to  the  caprice  of  the  English, 
unless  they  would  deliver  to  him  twenty-five  of  their  most 
illustrious  nobles,  as  hostages  for  their  fidelity ;  and  having 
obtained  this  security,  he  sent  over  Lewis  with  a  nume- 
rous army. 

In  consequence  of  that  young  prince's  appearance  in 
England,  John's  foreign  troops,  being  mostly  levied  in 
Flanders,  and  other  provinces  of  France,  refused  to  serve 
against  the  heir  of  their  monarchy.  Many  considerable 
noblemen  deserted  John's  party  ;  his  castles  fell  daily  into 
the  bands  of  the  enemy ;  and  Dover  waa  thfr  caly  place 
which  resisted  the  progress  of  Lewis.  But  the  union  be- 
tween the  English  and  the  French  was  of  short  duration  ; 
the  preference  of  Lewis  to  the  latter  soon  excited  tha  jea- 
lousy of  the  former  ;  and  the  French  began  to  apprwiend 
a  sudden  reverse  of  fortune.  The  king  was  assembling  a 
considerable  army,  with  an  intention  of  fighting  one  great 
battle  for  his  crown  ;  but  passing  from  Lynne  to  Lincoln- 
shire, his  road  lay  along  the  sea-shore,  which  was  rer- 
flowed  at  high-water,  and  not  choosing  the  proper  time 
his  journey,  he  lost  in  the  inundation  all  his  carriages,  trea- 
sure, baggage,  and  regalia.  The  affliction  for  this  disas- 
ter, and  vexation  from  the  distracted  state  of  his  affairs, 
increased  an  indisposition  under  which  he  then  laboured; 
and  though  he  reached  the  castle  of  Newark,  he  soon  after 
died,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  eighteenth 
of  his  reign.     He  left  two  legitimate  sons,  Henry  and 


70  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Richard,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  only  nine  years  old,  and 
the  other  seven. 

The  character  of  John  is  a  complication  of  vices  equal- 
ly mean  and  odious ;  cowardice,  levity,  licentiousness,  in- 
gratitude, treachery,  tyranny,  and  cruelty.  It  is  hard  to 
say  whether  his  conduct  to  his  father,  his  brother,  his 
nephew,  or  his  subjects,  was  most  culpable.  By  his  mis- 
conduct he  lost  the  nourishing  provinces  of  France,  the 
ancient  patrimony  of  his  family ;  he  subjected  his  kingdom 
to  a  shameful  vassalage  under  the  see  of  Rome ;  and  he 
died  when  in  danger  of  being  totally  expelled  by  a  foreign 
power,  and  of  either  ending  his  life  in  prison,  or  in  seek- 
ing shelter  as  a  fugitive  from  the  pursuit  of  his  enemies. 

CHAP.  V. 

The  reigns  of  Henry  III.,  Edward  J.,  and  Edward  II. 

Fortunately  for  Henry  III.,  as  well  as  for  the  nation, 
the  earl  of  Pembroke  was,  at  the  time  of  John's 
1218  death,  mareschal  of  England,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  armies.  This  nobleman,  who  had  maintained 
his  loyalty  to  John,  was  chosen  protector  of  the  realm, 
during  the  king's  minority,  by  a  general  council  of  the  ba- 
rons. That  lie  might  reconcile  all  men  to  the  government 
of  his  pupil,  he  made  him  grant  a  new  charter  of  liberties, 
which,  though  mostly  similar  to  that  extorted  from  John, 
contained  some  alterations.  This  was  followed  by  a 
charter  of  forests,  which  declared  offences  committed  in 
the  king's  forests  no  longer  capital,  but  only  punishable  by 
fine  and  imprisonment. 

These  charters  diffused  so  much  satisfaction  as  evidently 
to  affect  the  cause  of  Lewis.  The  distrust  which  the 
French  prince  manifested  of  the  fidelity  of  the  English, 
encouraged  the  general  propensity  towards  the  king.  A 
large  detachment  of  the  French  was  routed  near  Lincoln ; 
and  their  fleet  suffered  a  considerable  defeat  off  the  coast 
of  Kent.  After  these  events,  the  malcontent  barons  has- 
tened by  an  early  submission  to  prevent  those  attainders 
to  which  they  were  exposed  on  account  of  their  rebellion  ; 
and  Lewis,  whose  cause  was  now  totally  desperate,  readily 
consented  to  conclude  a  peace  on  honourable  conditions, 
promising  to  evacuate  the  kingdom,  and  only  stipulating, 
in  return,  an  indemnity  to  his  adherents,  and  a  restitution 


HENRY  III.    J  71 

of  their  honours  and  fortunes.  Thus  was  happily  ended 
a  civil  war,  which  had  threatened  the  kingdom  with  the 
most  fatal  consequences. 

The  earl  of  Pembroke  did  not  long  survive  the  pacifica- 
tion, which  had  been  chiefly  owing  to  his  wisdom  and  va- 
lour ;  and  he  was  succeeded  in  the  government  by  Peter 
des  Rosches,  bishop  of  Winchester,  and  Hubert  de  Burgh, 
the  justiciary.  The  counsels  of  the  latter  were  chiefly 
followed ;  and  had  he  possessed  equal  influence  with  Pem- 
broke, he  seemed  to  be  every  way  worthy  of  filling  the 
place  of  that  virtuous  nobleman.  But  the  licentious  and 
powerful  barons,  having  once  broken  the  reins  of  subjec- 
tion to  their  prince,  could  ill  be  restrained  by  laws  under 
a  minority  ;  and  the  people,  no  less  than  the  king,  suffer- 
ed from  their  outrages.  They  retained  by  force  the  royal 
castles  ;  they  usurped  the  king's  demesnes  ;  they  oppress- 
ed their  vassals ;  and  they  protected  the  worst  kind  of 
banditti  in  their  robberies  and  extortions,  in  defiance  of 
legal  government. 

As  Henry  approached  to  man's  estate,  his  character  be- 
came every  day  better  known,  and  he  was  found 
incapable  of  maintaining  a  proper  authority  over  ,  ^1 
the  turbulent  barons.     Gentle,  humane,  and  mer- 
ciful, even  to  a  fault,  he  seems  to  have  been  steady  in 
nothing  else,  but  to  have  received  every  impression  from    # 
those  who  surrounded  him.     Without  activity  or  vigour,/  ^* 
he  was  unfit  to  conduct  war ;  without  policy  or  art,  he  was 
ill  calculated  to  maintain  peace.     His  resentments,  though     ' 
hasty  and  violent,  were  not  dreaded,  while  he  was  found 
to  drop  them  with  such  facility ;  his  friendships  were  little 
valued,  because  they  were  neither  derived  from  choice,  nor 
maintained  with  constancy. 

That  able  and  faithful  minister,  Hubert  de  Burgh,  was 
in  a  sudden  fit  of  caprice  dismissed  by  Henry,  and  exposed 
to  the  most  violent  persecutions.  Among  other  frivolous 
crimes  objected  to  him,  he  was  accused  of  gaining  the 
king's  affections  by  enchantments.  Hubert  was  expelled 
the  kingdom,  and  was  again  received  into  favour,  and  re- 
covered a  great  share  of  the  king's  confidence ;  but  he 
never  showed  any  inclination  to  reinstate  himself  in  power 
or  authority. 

Hubert  was  succeeded  in  the  government  of  the  king  - 


^ 


72  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

an*  kingdom  by  Peter,  bishop  of  Winchester,  a 
Aoqq  Poictevin  by  birth,  no  less  distinguished  by  his  ar- 
123  bitrary  principles  and  violent  conduct,  than  by  his 
courage  and  abilities.  Through  his  advice,  Henry  invited 
over  a  great  number  of  Pojctevins,  and  other  foreigners, 
who,  he  believed,  could  be  more  safely  trusted  than  the 
English.  Every  office  was  bestowed  on  these  strangers, 
who  exhausted  the  revenues  of  the  crown,  and  invaded  the 
rights  of  the  people.  A  combination  of  the  nobles,  formed 
against  this  odious  ministry,  was  broken  by  the  address  of 
Peter ;  the  estates  of  the  more  obnoxious  barons  were  con- 
fiscated, without  a  legal  sentence  or  trial  by  their  peers  ; 
and  when  the  authority  of  the  Great  Charter  was  objected 
to  the  king,  Henry  was  wont  to  reply,  "  why  should  I  ob- 
serve this  charter,  which  is  neglected  by  all  my  grandees, 
both  prelates  and  nobility  f  To  this  it  was  justly  answer- 
ed, "  you  ought,  sir,  to  set  them  the  example." 

So  violent  an  administration  as  that  of  the  bishop  of 
Winchester  could  not  be  of  long  duration ;  yet  its  fall  pro- 
ceeded from  the  church,  not  from  the  efforts  of  the  nobles. 
Edmond,  the  primate,  attended  by  many  other  prelates, 
represented  to  the  king  the  pernicious  measures  of  Peter, 
and  required  the  dismission  of  him  and  his  associates,  un- 
der pain  of  excommunication.  Henry  was  obliged  to  sub- 
mit; but  the  English  were  not  long  free  from  the  domi- 
nion of  foreigners.  The  king,  having  married 
i'*'  Eleanor,  daughter  of  the  count  of  Provence,  was 
♦  12t5b  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  strangers  from 
that  country,  whom  he  enriched  by  the  most  arbitrary  ex- 
actions upon  his  subjects. 

The  foreign  enterprises  of  Henry  were  equally  disgrace- 
ful with  his  domestic  government.  In  a  war  with  Louis 
IX.,  he  was  stripped  of  what  remained  to  him  of  Poictou. 
His  want  of  economy,  and  an  ill-judged  liberality,  obliged 
him  to  sell  all  his  plate  and  jewels.  When  this  expedient 
was  first  proposed  to  him,  he  asked,  where  he  should  find 
purchasers'?  It  was  replied,  the  citizens  of  London. 
"On  my  word,"  said  he,  "these  clowns  who  assume  to 
themselves  the  name  of  barons,  abound  in  every  thing, 
while  we  are  reduced  to  necessities." 

The  grievances  under  which  the  English  laboured  from 
the  faults  of  the  king,  were  considerably  increased  by  the 
usurpations  and  exactions  of  the  court  of  Rome.     About 


HENRY  HI.  73 

1229,  pope  Honorius  demanded,  and  obtained,  the  tenth 
of  all  ecclesiastical  revenues.  In  the  year  1240,  Otho  the 
legate  wrested  large  sums  from  the  prelates  and  convents, 
and  is  said  to  have  carried  more  money  out  of  the  king- 
dom than  he  left  in  it.  The  king,  who  relied  on  the  pope 
for  the  support  of  his  tottering  authority,  never  failed  to 
countenance  those  exactions. 

The  successful  revolt  of  the  barons  from  king  John  had 
rendered  them  more  sensible  of  their  own  importance. 
The  parliament,  which  seems  to  have  had  some  authority 
in  this  reign,  refused  an  aid,  unless  Henry  would 
promise,  at  the  same  time,  a  redress  of  civil  and  ec-  ,X- 1 
clesiastical  grievances,  and  ratify  the  great  charter 
in  the  most  solemn  manner.     To  this  the  king  consented ; 
but,  misled  by  his  favourites,  he  soon  resumed  the  same 
arbitrary  measures  of  government. 

The  conduct  of  Henry  afforded  a  pretence  to  Simon  de 
Montfort,  earl  of  Leicester,  for  attempting  to  wrest 
the  sceptre  from  the  feeble  hand  which  held  it.  ^o*q 
This  nobleman  had  espoused  Eleanor,  dowager  to 
William  earl  of  Pembroke,  and  sister  to  the  king.  His 
address  gained  him  the  affections  of  all  orders  of  men ; 
but  he  lost  the  friendship  of  Henry  from  the  usual  levity 
and  fickleness  of  that  prince.  He  was  banished  the  court, 
recalled,  and  again  disgraced  by  the  king.  Being  too 
great  to  preserve  an  entire  complaisance  to  Henry's  hu- 
mours, and  to  act  in  subserviency  to  the  minions  of  that 
prince,  he  found  more  advantage  in  cultivating  his  inte- 
rests with  the  public,  and  in  inflaming  the  general  disco%- 
tents.  He  filled  every  place  with  complaints  against  the 
infringement  of  the  great  charter ;  and  a  quarrel  which  he 
had  with  William  de  Valence,  the  king's  half-brother,  and 
chief  favourite,  determined  him  to  give  full  scope  to  his 
ambition.  He  secretly  called  a  meeting  of  the  most  con- 
siderable barons,  particularly  Humphrey  de  Bohun,  high 
constable,  Roger  Bigod,  earl  mareschal,  and  the  earls  of 
Warwick  and  Gloucester.  To  them  he  exaggerated  the 
oppressions  exercised  against  the  lower  orders  of  the  state, 
the  violations  of  the  barons'  privileges,  and  the  continual 
depredations  made  on  the  clergy ;  and  he  appealed  to  the 
great  charter  which  Henry  had  so  often  ratified,  and  which 
was  calculated  to  prevent  the  return  of  those  grievances. 
He  magnified  the  generosity  of  their  ancestors,  who,  at  the 
7 


t 


74  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

expense  of  their  blood  had  extorted  that  famous  concession 
from  the  crown ;  but  he  lamented  their  own  degeneracy, 
who  allowed  so  important  an  advantage  to  be  wrested  from 
them  by  a  weak  prince  and  insolent  parasites. 

These  topics  were  well  suited  to  the  sentiments  of  the 
company,  and  the  barons  embraced  a  resolution  of  re- 
dressing the  public  grievances,  by  taking  into  their  own 
hands  the  administration  of  government.  Henry  having 
summoned  a  parliament,  the  barons  appeared  in  the  hall 
clad  in  complete  armour,  and  with  their  swords  by  their 
sides.  The  king,  struck  with  their  unusual  appearance, 
asked,  whether  they  intended  to  make  him  their  prisoner  ? 
Roger  Bigod  replied  in  the  name  of  the  rest,  "  that  he  was 
not  their  prisoner,  but  their  sovereign ;  but  that,  as  he  had 
frequently  acknowledged  his  past  errors,  and  had  still 
allowed  himself  to  be  carried  in  the  same  path,  he  must 
now  yield  to  more  strict  regulations,  and  confer  authority 
on  those  who  were  able  and  willing  to  redress  the  national 
grievances."  Henry,  partly  allured  by  the  hope  of  sup- 
ply, partly  intimidated  by  the  union  and  martial  appear- 
ance of  the  barons,  agreed  to  their  demand,  and  promised 
to  summon  another  parliament  at  Oxford,  in  order  to  di- 
gest the  new  plan  of  government. 

This  parliament,  which,  from  the  confusion  that  at- 
tended its  measures,  was  afterwards  denominated  the 
"  mad  parliament,"  chose  twelve  barons,  to  whom  were 
added  twelve  more  from  the  king's  ministers.  To  these 
twenty-four,  unlimited  authority  was  granted  to  reform  the 
state ;  and  as  Leicester  was  at  the  head  of  this  supreme 
council,  to  which  the  legislative  power  was  in  reality 
transferred,  all  their  measures  were  taken  by  his  influence 
and  direction.  They  ordered  that  four  knights  should  be 
chosen  by  each  county,  who  should  inquire  into  the  grie- 
vances of  the  people,  and  inform  the  assembly  of  the  state 
of  their  particular  counties  ;  that  three  sessions  of  parlia- 
ment should  be  regularly  held  every  year;  that  a  new 
sheriff  should  be  annually  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  free- 
holders of  each  county ;  that  no  he\rs  should  be  committed 
to  the  wardship  of  foreigners,  and  no  castles  intrusted  to 
their  custody ;  and  that  no  new  warrens  or  forests  should 
be  created,  nor  the  revenues  of  any  counties  or  hundreds 
he  let  to  farm. 

The  earl  of  Leicester  and  his  associates,  having  pro- 


HENRY  III.  75 

ceeded  so  far  to  satisfy  the  nation,  instead  of  continuing 
in  this  popular  course,  or  granting  the  king  those  supplies 
which  they  had  promised,  provided  for  the  extension  of 
their  own  authority.  They  displaced  all  the  chief  officers 
of  the  crown  ;  and  advanced  either  themselves  or  their 
own  creatures  in  their  place.  The  whole  power  of  the 
state  being  thus  transferred  to  them,  they  obliged  every 
man  to  swear,  that  they  would  obey  and  execute  all  the 
regulations  of  the  twenty-four  barons ;  and  they  chose  a 
committee  of  twelve  persons,  who,  during  the  intervals  of 
the  sessions,  were  to  possess  the  whole  authority  of  par- 
liament. 

But  the  stream  of  popularity  rapidly  turned  against  them. 
Whatever  support  the  barons  might  have  derived  from  the 
private  power  of  their  families,  was  weakened  by  their 
intestine  jealousies  and  animosities.  A  violent  enmity 
broke  out  between  the  earls  of  Leicester  and  Gloucester ; 
the  latter,  more  moderate  in  his  designs,  was  desirous  of 
stopping  or  retarding  the  usurpations  of  the  barons  ;  but 
the  former,  enraged  at  the  opposition  he  met  with  in  his 
own  party,  pretended  to  throw  up  all  concern  in  English 
affairs,  and  retired  into  France. 

On  the  death  of  the  earl  of  Gloucester,  who,  before  his 
decease,  had  joined  the  royal  party,  Leicester  en- 
tered into  a  confederacy  with  Llewellyn,  prince  of  |o«q 
Wales.  Llewellyn  invaded  England  with  an  army 
of  thirty  thousand  men,  but  was  repulsed,  and  obliged  to 
take  shelter  in  the  north  of  Wales.  The  Welsh  invasion 
was  the  signal  for  the  malcontent  barons  to  rise  in  arms. 
Leicester  secretly  passed  over  into  England,  collected  all 
the  forces  of  his  party,  and  commenced  an  open  rebellion. 
The  power  of  Leicester's  faction  increased  to  such  a  height, 
that  the  king,  unable  to  resist  it,  was  obliged  to  seek  an 
accommodation.  He  agreed  to  confirm  the  provisions  of 
Oxford,  and  reinstated  the  barons  in  the  sovereignty  of 
the  kingdom.  The  Latter  summoned  a  parliament  to  meet 
at  Westminster,  in  order  to  settle  the  plan  of  government ; 
and,  in  that  assembly,  they  produced  a  new  list  of  twenty- 
four  barons,  whose  authority  they  insisted  should  continue 
not  only  during  the  reign  of  the  khig,  but  also  during  that 
of  prince  Edward. 

This  prince,  the  life  and  soul  of  the  royal  party,  had 
been  taken  prisoner  by  Leicester  in  a  parley  at  Windsor ; 


76  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

and  that  event  had  chiefly  determined  Henry  to  submit  to 
the  ignominious  conditions  imposed  on  him  by  the  barons. 
Edward,  however,  having  recovered  his  liberty  by  the 
treaty,  employed  his  activity  in  defending  the  prerogatives 
of  his  family.  The  number  of  his  friends,  and  the  clamour 
of  the  people  for  peace,  obliged  the  earl  of  Leicester  to 
consent  to  a  second  negotiation ;  and  it  was  agreed  by 
both  sides  to  submit  their  differences  to  the  arbitration  of 
the  king  of  France. 

This  virtuous  prince  had  never  ceased  to  interpose  his 
good  offices  between  the  English  factions  ;  and  at  Amiens, 
in  the  presence  of  the  states  of  France,  of  the  king  of 
England,  and  of  Peter  de  Montfort,  Leicester's  son,  he 
brought  this  great  cause  to  a  trial.  He  annulled  the  pro- 
visions of  Oxford,  restored  to  the  king  the  possession  of 
his  castles,  and  the  nomination  of  the  great  offices  ;  but 
he  ordered  that  a  general  amnesty  should  be  granted  for 
all  past  offences,  and  declared  that  his  award  was  in  no 
wise  meant  to  derogate  from  the  privileges  and  liberties 
which  the  nation  enjoyed  by  any  former  charters. 

This  equitable  sentence  was  rejected  by  Leicester  and 
his  confederates,  who  determined  to  have  recourse 
1264  t0  arms>  m  which  they  were  assisted  by  the  city  of 
London.  The  king  and  the  prince,  finding  a  civil 
war  inevitable,  prepared  themselves  for  defence,  and  sum- 
moned to  their  standard  their  military  vassals  ;  while  Lei- 
cester, having  been  reinforced  by  a  great  body  of  Lon- 
doners, determined  to  stake  the  fate  of  the  nation  on  a 
decisive  engagement.  Leicester  conducted  his  march 
with  so  much  skill  and  secrecy,  that  he  had  nearly  sur- 
prised the  royalists  in  their  quarters  at  Lewes,  in  Sussex ; 
but  the  vigilance  and  activity  of  prince  Edward  soon  re- 
paired this  negligence.  With  the  van  he  rushed  upon  the 
Londoners,  who,  from  their  ignorance  of  discipline,  and 
want  of  experience,  were  ill  fitted  to  resist  the  ardour  of 
Edward  and  his  martial  companions :  they  were  broken 
in  an  instant,  and  chased  off  the  field  for  four  miles.  But 
when  Edward  returned  from  the  pursuit,  he  was  astonish- 
ed to  find  the  ground  covered  with  the  dead  bodies  of  his 
friends,  and  still  more  to  hear  that  his  father,  and  his  uncle 
Richard,  king  of  the  Romans,  had  been  defeated  and 
taken  prisoners.  In  this  exigency,  the  gallant  prince  was 
obliged  to  submit  to  Leicester's  terms,  which  were  laconic 


HENRY  III.  77 

and  severe.  He  stipulated,  that  Edward,  and  Henry 
d'AUmaine,  the  son  of  the  king  of  the  Romans,  should  sur- 
render themselves  pledges  in  lieu  of  the  two  kings ;  that 
all  other  prisoners  on  both  sides  should  be  released ;  and 
that  the  king  of  France  should  name  six  Frenchmen,  who 
should  choose  two  others  of  their  own  country  ;  and  these 
two  should  appoint  one  Englishman,  and  that  these  three 
persons  should  be  invested  with  full  powers  to  make  what 
regulations  they  should  deem  necessary  for  the  settlement 
of  the  kingdom.  *» 

The  prince  and  young  Henry  accordingly  delivered 
themselves  into  Leicester's  hands,  who  sent  them  under  a 
guard  to  Dover  castle  ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  got  the  whole 
royal  family  in  his  power,  than  he  openly  violated  every 
article  of  the  treaty,  and  acted  as  sole  master,  and  even 
tyrant  of  the  kingdom.     No  farther  mention  was  made  of 
the  reference  to  the  king  of  France  ;  and  Leicester  sum- 
moned a  parliament,  composed  altogether  of  his  own  par- 
tisans, who  voted  the  royal  power  should  be  exercised  by 
nine  persons,  to  be  chosen  and  removed  by  the  majority  of 
three,  Leicester  himself,  the  earl  of  Gloucester,  and  the 
bishop  of  Chichester.     By  this  plan  of  government,  the 
sceptre  was  really  put  into  Leicester's  hands,  as  he  had 
the  entire  direction  of  the  bishop  of  Chichester.     Leices- 
ter, however,  summoned  a  new  parliament  in  London. 
Besides  the  barons  of  his  own  party,  and  several  ecclesias- 
tics, he  ordered  returns  to  be  made  of  two  knights  from 
each  shire,  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  of  deputies  from 
the  boroughs,  an  order  of  men  which  in  former  ages  had 
always  been  regarded  as  too  mean  to  enjoy  a  place 
in  the  national  councils.     This  period  is  commonly  inaz 
esteemed  the  epoch  of  the  house  of  commons  in 
England,  and  it  is  certainly  the  first  time  that  historians 
speak  of  any  representatives  sent  to  parliament  from  the 
boroughs. 

The  earl  of  Gloucester,  becoming  disgusted  with  the 
arbitrary  conduct  of  Leicester,  retired  for  safety  to  his  es- 
tates on  the  borders  of  Wales ;  Leicester  followed  him 
with  an  army  to  Hereford ;  and  that  he  might  add  autho- 
rity to  his  cause,  he  carried  both  the  king  and  prince  along 
with  him.  The  earl  of  Gloucester  here  concerted  with 
young  Edward  the  manner  of  that  prince's  escape.  He  fur- 
nished him  with  a  swift  horse,  and  appointed  a  small  party 
7* 


78  HISTORY  OF  ENGlANDi 

to  receive  the  prince,  and  guard  him  to  a  place  of  safety, 
Edward  pretended  to  take  the  air  with  some  of  his  guards  ; 
and  making  matches  between  their  horses  until  he  thought 
he  had  tired  them,  he  suddenly  mounted  Gloucester's 
horse,  bade  them  adieu,  and  reached  his  friends. 

The  royalists,  secretly  prepared  for  this  event,  immedi- 
ately flew  to  arms.  Leicester  finding  himself  in  a  remote 
quarter  of  the  kingdom,  surrounded  by  his  enemies,  and 
barred  from  all  communication  with  his  friends  by  the 
Severn,  whose  bridges  Edward  had  broken  down,  wrote 
to  his  son,  Simon  de  Montfort,  to  hasten  from  London 
with  an  army  for  his  relief.  Simon  had  advanced  to  Ken- 
ilworth  with  that  view,  where,  fancying  that  all  Edward's 
force  and  attention  were  directed  against  his  father,  he  lay 
secure  and  unguarded  ;  but  the  prince,  making  a  sudden 
and  forced  march,  surprised  him  in  his  camp,  dispersed 
his  army,  and  took  the  earl  of  Oxford  arid  many  other  no- 
blemen prisoners,  almost  without  resistance.  Leicester, 
ignorant  of  his  son's  fate,  passed  the  Severn  in  boats  du- 
ring Edward's  absence,  and  lay  at  Evesham,  in  expecta- 
tion of  being  every  hour  joined  by  his  friends  from  Lon- 
don ;  when  the  prince,  who  availed  himself  of  every 
favourable  movement,  appeared  in  the  field  before  him. 
The  battle  immediately  began,  though  on  very  unequal 
terms.  Leicester's  army,  by  living  on  the  mountains  of 
Wales  without  bread,  which  was  not  then  much  used 
among  the  inhabitants,  had  been  extremely  weakened  by 
sickness  and  desertion,  and  was  soon  broken  by  the  victo- 
rious royalists ;  while  his  Welsh  allies,  accustomed  only 
to  a  desultory  kind  of  war,  immediately  took  to  flight,  and 
were  pursued  with  great  slaughter.  Leicester  himself, 
asking  for  quarter,  was  slain  in  the  heat  of  the  action, 
with  his  eldest  son,  Henry,  Hugh  le  Despenser,  and  about 
a  hundred  and  sixty  knights,  and  many  other  gentlemen 
of  his  party.  The  old  king  had  been  purposely  placed 
by  the  rebels  in  the  front  of  the  battle ;  and  being  clad  in 
armour,  and  thereby  not  known  by  his  friends,  he  received 
a  wound,  and  was  in  danger  of  his  life ;  but  crying  out, 
"  I  am  Henry  of  Winchester,  your  king,"  he  was  rescued 
and  carried  to  a  place  of  safety. 

The  victory  of  Evesham,  with  the  death  of  Leicester, 

proved  decisive  in  favour  of  the  royalists ;  but  they 

^ijc  used  it  with  moderation.     No  sacrifices  of  national 

liberty  were  made  on  this  occasion;  the  great 


HENRY   III.  79 

charter  remained  inviolate ;  and  they  carefully  abstained 
from  all  those  exertions  of  power,  which  had  afforded  so 
plausible  a  pretext  to  the  rebels.  The  mild  disposition  of 
the  king,  and  the  prudence  of  the  prince,  tempered  the  in- 
solence of  victory. 

Prince  Edward  finding  the  state  of  the  kingdom  tolera- 
bly composed,  was  impelled  by  his  avidity  for  glo- 
ry, by  the  prejudices  of  the  age,  and  by  the  earnest  1  ^n 
solicitations  of  the  king  of  France,  to  undertake 
an  expedition  against  the  infidels  in  the  Holy  Land.     He 
sailed  from  England  with  an  army ;  but  when  he  arrived 
at  Tunis,  he  found  Lewis  had  died  from  the  heat  of  the 
climate  and  the  fatigues  of  the  enterprise.     Not  discoura- 
ged, however,  by  this  event,   he  continued  his  voyage  to 
the  Holy  Land,  where  he  signalized  himself  by  acts  of 
valour,  and  revived  the  glory  of  the  English  name.        V 

In  the  mean  time,  his  absence  from  England  was  pro- 
ductive of  the  most  fatal  consequences ;  the  laws  were  not 
executed;  the  barons  oppressed  the  common  people 
with  impunity ;  and  the  populace  of  London  returned  to 
their  usual  licentiousness.  The  old  king,  unequal  to  the 
burthen  of  public  affairs,  called  aloud  for  his  gallant  son 
to  return,  and  to  assist  him  in  swaying  that  sceptre  which 
was  ready  to  drop  from  his  feeble  and  irresolute  hands. 
At  last,  overcome  by  the  cares  of  government,  and  the  in- 
firmities of  age,  he  visibly  declined,  and  expired  at  Ed- 
mondsbury,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  fifty- 
sixth  of  his  reign ;  the  longest  reign  that  is  to  be  met  with 
in  the  English  annals,  except  that  of  our  late  sovereign. 
He  left  two  sons,  Edward,  his  successor,  and  Edmond  earl 
of  Lancaster ;  and  two  daughters,  Margaret  queen  of  Scot- 
land, and  Beatrix  duchess  of  Brittany.  The  most  obvious 
circumstance  of  Henry's  character  is,  his  incapacity  for 
government,  which  rendered  him  as  much  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  his  ministers  and  favourites,  as  when  a  captive 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  From  this  source,  rather  than 
from  insincerity  or  treachery,  arose  his  negligence  in  ob- 
serving his  promises.  Hence,  too,  were  derived  his  pro- 
fusion to  favourites,  his  attachment  to  strangers,  the  va- 
riableness of  his  conduct,  his  hasty  resentments,  and  the 
sudden  return  of  affection.  Greater  abilities,  with  his 
good  dispositions,  would  have  prevented  him  from  falling 


80  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

into  his  faults ;  or,  with  worse  dispositions,  would  have 
enabled  him  to  maintain  them. 

Edward  had  reached  Sicily  in  his  return  from  the  Holy 

Land,  where  he  had  been  wounded  with  a  poison- 

1272  ous  dag£er>  when  he  received  intelligence  of  the 

death  of  his  father.      As  he  was  assured  of  the 

quiet  settlement  of  the  kingdom,  he  was  in  no  hurry  to 

take  possession  of  the  throne,  but  spent  near  a  year  in 

France,  and  did  homage  to  Philip  for  the  dominions  which 

he  held  in  that  country.     At  length  he  arrived  in  England, 

where  he  was  received  with  the  most  joyful  acclamations, 

and  was  solemnly  crowned  at  Westminister,  by  Robert, 

archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

The  king  immediately  applied  himself  to  correct  those 
disorders  which  civil  commotions  had  introduced.  By  a 
rigid  execution  of  the  laws,  he  gave  protection  to  the  infe- 
rior orders  of  thl  state,  and  diminished  the  arbitrary  power 
of  the  barons.  He  appointed  a  commission  to  inquire 
into  crimes  of  all  kinds ;  and  the  adulteration  of  the  coin 
of  the  realm  being  imputed  chiefly  to  the  Jews,  he  let  loose 
on  them  the  whole  rigours  of  his  justice.  In  London 
alone,  two  hundred  and  eighty  of  them  were  hanged  at 
once  for  this  crime ;  fifteen  thousand  were  robbed  of  their 
effects,  and  banished  the  kingdom  ;  and  since  that  period 
they  have  never  been  so  numerous  in  England. 

Llewellyn,  prince  of  Wales,  had  entered  into  all  the 
conspiracies  of  the  Montfort  faction  against  the 
127fi  crown  >  an&  refusing  to  do  homage  to  the  new  king, 
Edward  levied  an  army  to  reduce  him  to  obe- 
dience. Llewellyn  retired  among  the  hills  of  Snowdon ; 
but  Edward  pierced  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  and 
obliged  him  to  submit  at  discretion.  He  did  homage,  and 
permitted  his  barons  to  swear  fealty  to  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  he  also  relinquished  the  country  between  Che- 
shire and  the  river  Conway.  However,  the  insolence  of 
the  English,  who  oppressed  the  inhabitants  of  the  districts 
ceded  to  them,  raised  the  indignation  of  the  Welsh,  who 
again  took  to  arms.  Edward  advanced  into  Wales  with 
an  army  which  could  not  be  resisted.  Llewellyn  was  sur- 
prised and  slain,  with  two  thousand  of  his  followers ;  and 
his  brother  David,  after  being  chased  from  hill  to  hill,  was 
at  last  betrayed  to  the  enemy.  Edward  sent  him  in  chains 
to  Shrewsbury;  and  bringing  him  to  a  formal  trial  before 


EDWARD    I.  81 

all  the  peers  of  England,  he  ordered  this  sovereign  prince 
to  be  hanged  as  a  traitor,  for  defending  the  liberties  of  his 
native  country.  The  Welsh  nobility  submitted  to  the  con- 
queror ;  and  the  laws  of  England  were  established  through- 
out the  principality. 

The  king,  sensible  that  nothing  cherished  military  glory 
and  valour  so  much  as  traditional  poetry,  collected 
all  the  Welsh  bards,  and  barbarously  ordered  them  ^'nel 
to  be  put  to  death.  It  is  said  that  Edward  promised 
to  give  the  Welsh  a  prince,  a  Welshman  by  birth;  and 
that  he  invested  in  the  principality  his  son  Edward,  then 
an  infant,  who  had  been  born  at  Caernarvon.  Thus  Wales 
was  fully  annexed  to  the  crown ;  and  henceforth  gives  a 
title  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  kings  of  England. 

Edward  had  contracted  his  son  to  Margaret,  the  heir  to 
the  Scottish  throne,  and  by  this  means  hoped  to  unite 
the  whole  island  into  one  monarchy  ;  but  this  pro-  ^qi 
ject  failed  of  success  by  the  sudden  death  of  that 
princess ;  and  the  vacant  throne  was  claimed  both  by  John 
Baliol  and  Robert  Bruce.  Each  of  the  two  claimants  pos- 
sessed numerous  adherents ;  and  in  order  to  prevent  a 
civil  war,  it  was  agreed  on  to  submit  the  dispute  to  the  ar- 
bitration of  the  king  of  England.  The  temptation  was  too 
strong  for  the  virtue  of  Edward.  He  prepared  to  lay  hold 
of  the  present  opportunity  to  revive,  if  not  to  create,  his 
claim  of  a  feudal  superiority  over  Scotland.  Accompa- 
nied by  a  great  army,  he  advanced  to  the  frontiers,  and 
invited  the  Scottish  parliament  and  the  competitors  to  at- 
tend him  in  the  castle  of  Norham,  on  the  southern  bank  of 
the  Tweed.  He  informed  them  that  he  was  come  thither 
to  determine  the  right  of  the  two  competitors  to  their 
crown ;  that  he  was  resolved  to  do  strict  justice  to  each 
party ;  and  that  he  was  entitled  to  this  authority,  not  in 
virtue  of  the  reference  made  to  him,  but  in  quality  of  liege 
lord  of  the  kingdom. 

The  Scottish  barons  were  moved  with  indignation  at 
the  injustice  of  this  unexpected  claim  :  but  they  found 
themselves  betrayed  into  a  situation,  in  which  it  was  im- 
possible for  them  to  make  any  defence  for  the  indepen- 
dence of  their  country ;  and  the  king  interpreting  their 
silence  into  consent,  addressed  himself  to  the  competitors, 
and  previously  to  his  pronouncing  sentence,  required  their 
acknowledgment  of  his  superiority.     At  length,  after  long 


82  v  HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

deliberations,  Edward  pronounced  in  favour  of  Baliol,  to 
whom,  upon  renewing  his  oath  of  fealty  to  England,  all 
the  Scottish  fortresses  were  restored.  However,  he  pro- 
ceeded in  such  a  manner,  as  made  it  evident  that  he  aimed 
at  the  absolute  dominion  of  the  kingdom.  He  encouraged 
appeals  to  England ;  and  obliged  king  John  to  appear  at 
the  bar  of  his  parliament  as  a  private  person.  Baliol, 
though  a  prince  of  gentle  disposition,  was  greatly  provo- 
ked at  this  usage  ;  he  determined  at  all  hazards  to  vindi- 
cate his  liberties ;  and  the  war  which  soon  after  broke 
out  between  France  and  England  afforded  him  a  favoura- 
ble opportunity. 

A  petty  quarrel  between  a  Norman  and  English  sailor 
had  been  speedily  inflamed  into  a  national  enmity. 
|oqq  Barbarities  were  committed  on  the  crews  of  Nor- 
man and  English  vessels ;  the  sea  became  a  scene 
of  piracy  between  the  two  nations  ;  and  so  numerous  were 
the  fleets  engaged,  that  fifteen  thousand  Frenchmen  are 
reported  to  have  perished  in  one  action.  Philip  sent  an  en- 
voy to  demand  reparation ;  but  not  obtaining  sufficient  sa- 
tisfaction, he  summoned  Edward,  as  his  vassal,  to  appear 
in  his  court  at  Paris,  and  answer  for  these  offences  ;  and 
on  his  refusal,  Guienne,  by  a  formal  decree,  was  decla- 
red forfeited,  and  annexed  to  the  crown  of  France. 
Some  impression  was  made  on  Guienne  by  an  English 
army,  which  Edward  raised  by  emptying  the  jails,  but 
which  was  soon  after  defeated  with  great  slaughter  ;  and 
England  was  at  the  same  time  menaced  with  an  invasion 
from  France  and  from  Scotland,  whose  kings  had  entered 
into  a  secret  alliance. 

The  expenses  attending  these  wars  obliged  Edward  to 
have  frequent  recourse  to  parliamentary  supplies, 
and  to  introduce  into  the  public  councils  the  lower  jnoK 
orders  of  the  state.     He  issued  writs  to  the  sheriffs, 
enjoining  them  to  send  to  parliament,    along   with  two 
knights  of  the  shire,  two  deputies  from  each  borough  ;* 

*  The  charges  of  the  deputies  were  borne  by  the  borough  which 
sent  them.  They  set  apart  from  the  barons  and  knights,  who  dis- 
dained to  mix  with  such  mean  personages.  After  they  had  given 
their  consent  to  the  taxes  required  of  them,  they  separated,  even 
though  the  parliament  continued  to  sit.  However,  the  union  of  the 
representatives  from  the  boroughs  gave  gradually  more  weight  to 
the  whole  order ;  and  it  became  customary  for  them,  in  return  for 


EDWARD  I.  S3 

15  as  it  is  a  most  equitable  rule,"  says  he,  "  that  what 
concerns  all  should  be  approved  of  by  all,  and  common 
dangers  be  repelled  by  united  efforts."  This  noble  prin- 
ciple seems  to  indicate  a  liberal  mind  in  the  king,  and  to 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  a  free  and  equitable  govern- 
ment ;  and  from  this  period  may  be  dated  the  regular  es- 
tablishment of  the  different  branches  composing  the  house 
of  commons,  the  precedent  of  Leicester  in  the  former 
reign  being  rather  an  act  of  violence  than  of  authority. 

Edward  employed  the  supplies  granted  him  by 
his  people,  in  making  preparations  against  the  hos-  ^qA 
tilities  of  his  northern  neighbours.  He  summoned 
John  to  appear  before  him  as  his  vassal ;  and  on  his  refu- 
sal, he  marched  with  thirty  thousand  foot  and  four  thou- 
sand horse  to  chastise  his  contumacy.  Some  of  the  most 
considerable  of  the  Scottish  nobles  endeavoured  to  ingra- 
tiate themselves  with  Edward  by  an  early  submission ; 
and  the  king  crossed  the  Tweed  without  opposition,  took 
Berwick  by  assault,  and  detached  the  earl  of  Warrenne 
with  twelve  thousand  men  to  besiege  Dunbar.  The  Scots, 
who  advanced  against  Warrenne  with  their  main  army, 
were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  twenty  thousand  men. 
Dunbar  surrendered ;  and,  after  a  feeble  resistance,  the 
castle  of  Edinburgh  and  Stirling  opened  their  gates  to  the 
English.     All  the  southern  parts  were  immediately  subdu- 

the  supplies  which  they  granted,  to  prefer  petitions  to  the  crown  for 
the  redress  of  any  particular  grievance ;  and  the  king,  by  adding  to 
the  petitions  the  sanction  of  his  authority,  bestowed  validity  upon 
them.  But  it  was  soon  discovered,  that  no  laws  could  be  fixed  for 
one  order  of  men,  without  affecting  the  whole ;  and  the  house  of 
peers,  therefore,  with  reason,  expected  that  their  assent  should  be 
expressly  granted  to  all  public  ordinances. 

With  the  most  frequent  partition  of  property,  the  knights  and  les- 
ser barons  sunk  into  a  rank  still  more  inferior  to  the  great  nobility  ; 
while  the  growth  of  commerce  augmented  the  private  wealth  and 
consideration  of  the  burgesses  ;  and  as  they  resembled  the  knights 
of  shires  in  representing  particular  bodies  of  men,  it  no  longer  ap- 
peared unsuitable  to  unite  them  together  in  the  same  house,  and 
to  confound  their  rights  and  privileges.  This  event  took  place  in 
the  16th  of  Edward  III.,  or  forty-eight  years  from  the  time  when 
burgesses  were  first  summoned  to  parliament.  Thus  the  third 
estate,  that  of  the  commons,  reached  at  length  its  present  form ;  it 
gradually  increased  in  importance ;  and  in  its  progress  made  arts 
and  commerce,  the  necessary  attendants  of  liberty  and  equal  rights, 
flourish  in  the  kingdom. 


84  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

ed.  The  spirit  of  the  nation  was  broken  by  misfortunes ; 
and  the  feeble  and  timid  Baliol  hastened  to  make  his  sub- 
mission, and  solemnly  resigned  his  crown  into  the  hands 
of  Edward.  That  sovereign  marched  to  Aberdeen  and 
Elgin  without  opposition  ,  and  having  reduced  the  whole 
kingdom  to  an  apparent  state  of  tranquility,  he  returned 
to  the  south.  Earl  Warrenne  was  left  governor  of  Scot- 
land. Baliol  was  carried  to  London,  and  lay  two  years 
in  the  tower,  and  then  submitted  to  a  voluntary  banishment 
if      to  France,  where  he  died  in  a  private  station. 

Edward  was  not  equally  successful  in  his  attempt  to 
recover  Guienne  ;  and,  at  length,  he  and  Philip  agreed  to 
submit  their  differences  to  the  arbitration  of  Pope  Boni- 
face. This  was  the  last  of  the  sovereign  pontiffs 
%£>qq  that  exercised  any  authority  over  the  temporal  juris- 
diction of  princes ;  and  these  exorbitant  preten- 
sions, which  he  had  been  tempted  to  assume  from  the  suc- 
cessful example  of  his  predecessors,  but  of  which  the  sea- 
son was  now  passed,  involved  him  in  so  many  calamities, 
and  were  attended  with  so  unfortunate  a  catastrophe,  that 
they  have  been  secretly  abandoned,  though  never  openly 
relinquished,  by  his  successors  in  the  apostolic  chair. 
Edward  and  Philip,  equally  jealous  of  papal  claims,  took 
care  to  insert  in  their  reference,  that  Boniface  was  made 
judge  of  their  differences  by  their  consent,  as  a  private 
person,  not  by  any  right  of  his  pontificate  ;  and  the  pope, 
without  seeming  to  be  offended  at  this  mortifying  clause, 
proceeded  to  give  a  sentence  between  them,  in  which  they 
both  acquiesced.  He  brought  them  to  agree  that  their 
union  should  be  cemented  by  a  double  marriage  ;  that  of 
Edward  himself,  who  now  was  a  widower,  with  Margaret, 
Philip's  sister ;  and  that  of  the  prince  of  Wales  with  Isa- 
bella, daughter  of  that  monarch.  Philip  was  likewise 
willing  to  restore  Guienne  to  the  English ;  and  Edward 
agreed  to  abandon  his  ally  the  earl  of  Flanders,  on  con- 
dition that  Philip  should  treat  in  like  manner  his  ally,  the 
king  of  Scots.  The  prospect  of  conquering  these  two 
countries,  whose  situation  made  them  so  commodious  an 
acquisition  to  the  respective  kingdoms,  prevailed  over  all 
other  considerations ;  and  though  they  were  both  finally 
disappointed  in  their  hopes,  their  conduct  was  very  recon- 
cilable to  the  principles  of  an  interested  policy. 
Warrenne  retiring  into  England,  on  account  of  his  bad 


EDWARD  I.  85 

state  of  health,  left  the  administration  of  Scotland  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  Ormsby  the  justiciary,  and  Cressingham 
the  treasurer.  The  former  distinguished  himself  by  his 
severity ;  the  latter  had  no  other  object  than  the  amassing 
of  money  by  rapine  and  injustice.  They  treated  the  Scots 
as  a  conquered  people  ;  and,  in  consequence,  the  bravest 
and  most  generous  spirits  of  the  nation  were  exasperated 
to  the  highest  degree  against  the  English  government. 

Among  these  was  William  Wallace,  a  man  descended 
from  an  ancient  family,  whose  courage  prompted  him  to 
undertake,  and  enabled  him  finally  to  accomplish,  the  de- 
liverance of  his  native  country.  Finding  himself  obnoxious- 
to  the  administration,  he  had  fled  into  the  woods,  and  of- 
fered himself  as  a  leader  to  all  those  whom  their  crimes, 
or  bad  fortune,  or  avowed  hatred  to  the  English,  had  re- 
duced to  the  same  necessity.  He  was  endowed  with  gigan- 
tic force,  with  heroic  courage,  and  patience  to  bear  hun- 
ger, fatigue,  and  all  the  severities  of  the  seasons.  Begin- 
ning with  small  attempts,  he  gradually  proceeded  to  more 
momentous  enterprises ;  and  he  discovered  equal  prudence 
in  securing  his  followers,  and  valour  in  annoying  the  ene- 
my. All  who  thirsted  after  military  fame,  or  felt  the  flame 
of  patriotism,  were  desirous  to  partake  his  renown ;  and 
he  seemed  to  vindicate  the  nation  from  the  ignominy  into 
which  it  had  fallen  by  its  tame  submission  to  the  English. 

Wallace  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  against  the 
English  government,  and  concerted  the  plan  of  attacking 
Ormsby  at  Scone  ;  but  the  justiciary,  apprised  of  his  in- 
tentions, fled  hastily  into  England,  and  all  the  other  offi- 
cers of  Edward  followed  his  example.  Their  terror  added 
courage  to  the  Scots,  who  took  up  arms  in  every  quarter. 
Warrenne  collected  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men  in  the 
north  of  England,  advanced  to  Stirling,  and  found  Wallace 
encamped  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  Forth.  He  pre- 
pared to  attack  the  Scots  in  that  position,  and  ordered  his 
army  to  cross  a  bridge  which  lay  over  the  Forth.  Wal- 
lace, allowing  a  number  of  the  English  to  pass,  attacked 
them  before  they  could  be  formed,  and  pushed  them  into 
the  river,  or  destroyed  them  with  the  sword.  Warrenne 
was  obliged  to  retire  into  England ;  and  Wallace,  after 
receiving  from  his  followers  the  title  of  guardian,  or  re- 
gent, broke  into  the  northern  counties  of  England,  and 
extended  his  ravages  to  the  bishopric  of  Durham. 
8 


36  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Edward,  who  received  in  Flanders  intelligence  of  these 
events,  hastened  his  return ;  and  having  collected  the 
whole  military  force  of  England,  Wales,  and  Ireland,  he 
marched  with  an  army  of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  men 
to  the  northern  frontiers.  The  Scots  were  distracted  by 
faction  and  animosity.  The  elevation  of  Wallace  was  the 
object  of  envy  to  the  nobility ;  and  that  hero,  sensible  of 
their  jealousy,  and  dreading  the  ruin  of  his  country  from 
these  intestine  discords,  voluntarily  resigned  his  authority, 
and  retained  only  the  command  over  that  body  of  follow- 
ers, who,  being  accustomed  to  victory  under  his  standard, 
refused  to  follow  into  the  field  any  other  leader.  The 
chief  power  devolved  on  the  steward  of  Scotland,  and 
Cummin  of  Badenach,  men  of  eminent  birth,  who  fixed 
their  station  at  Falkirk,  where  they  purposed  to  abide  the 
assault  of  the  English. 

The  English  archers,  who  began  about  this  time  to  sur- 
pass those  of  other  nations,  first  chased  the  Scottish  bow- 
men off  the  field,  afterwards  threw  the  pikemen  into  disor- 
der, and  thus  rendered  the  assault  of  the  English  lancers 
and  cavalry  more  easy  and  successful.  The  whole  Scot- 
tish army  was  broken  and  driven  off  the  field  with  prodi- 
gious slaughter.  In  this  general  rout  Wallace  kept  his 
troops  entire  ;  and  retiring  behind  the  Carron,  he  marched 
leisurely  along  the  banks  of  that  river.  Young  Robert 
Bruce,  the  grandson  and  heir  of  him  who  had  been  com- 
petitor for  the  throne,  who,  in  the  service  of  England,  had 
already  given  many  proofs  of  his  aspiring  genius,  appear- 
ed on  the  opposite  banks ;  and  distinguishing  the  Scottish 
chief,  he  called  to  him,  and  desired  a  short  conference. 
He  represented  to  Wallace  the  fruitless  and  ruinous  enter- 
prise in  which  he  Was  engaged,  and  the  unequal  contest 
between  a  weak  state,  deprived  of  its  head  and  agitated 
by  intestine  discord,  and  a  mighty  nation  conducted  by 
the  ablest  and  most  martial  monarch  of  the  age.  If  the 
love  of  his  country  was  a  motive  for  perseverance,  his 
obstinacy  tended  only  to  prolong  her  misery ;  if  he  carried 
his  views  to  private  grandeur  and  ambition,  he  ought  to 
reflect,  that  so  many  haughty  nobles,  proud  of  the  pre-emi- 
nence of  their  families,  would  never  submit  to  personal 
merit.  To  these  exhortations  Wallace  replied,  that,  if  he 
had  hitherto  acted  alone  as  the  champion  of  his  country, 
it  was  because  no  leader  had  yet  appeared  to  place  him- 


EDWAR©  I.  87 

self  in  that  honourable  station ;  that  the  blame  lay  entirely 
with  the  nobility,  and  chiefly  with  Bruce  himself,  who  uni- 
ting personal  merit  to  dignity  of  family,  had  deserted  the 
post  which  both  nature  and  fortune  invited  him  to  assume ; 
that  the  Scots,  possessed  of  such  a  leader,  might  hope 
successfully  to  oppose  all  the  powers  and  abilities  of  Ed- 
ward ;  and  that,  as  for  himself,  he  was  desirous  that  his 
own  life,  as  well  as  the  existence  of  the  nation,  might  ter- 
minate when  they  could  not  otherwise  be  preserved,  than 
by  receiving  the  chains  of  a  haughty  victor.  The  gallan- 
try of  these  sentiments  was  felt  by  the  generous  mind  of 
Bruce ;  and  he  secretly  determined  to  seize  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  embracing  the  cause  of  his  oppressed  country. 

The  battle  of  Falkirk  had  not  completed  the  subjection 
of  the  Scots.     They  chose  for  their  regent  John 
Cummin,    who  surprised  the  English  army,  and   ^qq 
routed  them  after  an  obstinate  conflict ;  and  it  be- 
came necessary  for  Edward  to  begin  anew  the  conquest 
of  the  kingdom.  { 

The  king  prepared  himself  for  the  enterprise  with  his 
usual  vigour  and  abilities.  He  marched  victorious  from 
one  extremity  of  Scotland  to  the  other,  and  compelled 
even  Cummin  himself  to  submit  to  his  authority.  To 
render  his  acquisition  durable,  he  abrogated  all  the  laws 
and  customs  of  Scotland,  endeavoured  to  substitute  those 
of  England  in  their  place,  entirely  razed  or  destroyed  all 
the  monuments  of  antiquity,  and  hastened  wholly  to  abo- 
lish the  Scottish  name. 

Wallace  himself  was  at  length  betrayed  into  Edward's 
hands,  by  his  friend  Sir  John  Monteith ;  and  the 
king,    whose    natural   bravery  and   magnanimity  ione 
should  have  induced  him  to  respect  similar  quali- 
ties in  an  enemy,  resolved  to  overawe  the  Scots  by  an  ex- 
ample of  severity.     He  ordered  the  hero  to  be  carried  in 
chains  to  London  ;  to  be  tried  as  a  rebel  and  a  traitor, 
though  he  had  never  sworn  fealty  to  England  ;  and  to  be 
executed  on  Tower-hill.     Such  was  the  unworthy  fate  of 
Wallace,  who,  through  the  course  of  several  years,  with 
signal  conduct,  intrepidity,  and  perseverance,  defended, 
against  a  public  and  oppressive  enemy,  the  liberties  of  his 
native  country. 

The  barbarous  policy  of  Edward  failed  of  the  object  to 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


which  it  was  directed.  The  Scots  were  enraged  at 
I  oq^  the  injustice  and  cruelty  exercised  on  their  gallant 
chief;  and  it  was  not  long  ere  a  more  fortunate 
leader  presented  himself  to  conduct  them  to  victory  and 
to  vengeance.  Robert  Bruce,  whose  conference  with 
Wallace  on  the  banks  of  the  Carron  has  been  already  no- 
ticed, determined  to  revive  the  pretensions  of  his  family, 
and  to  aspire  to  the  vacant  throne.  Edward,  being  appri- 
zed of  his  intentions,  ordered  all  his  motions  to  be  strictly 
watched.  An  intimate  friend  of  Bruce,  not  daring,  amidst 
so  many  jealous  eyes,  to  hold  any  conversation  with  him, 
sent  him  by  his  servant  a  pair  of  gilt  spurs,  and  a  purse  of 
gold,  which  he  pretended  to  have  borrowed  from  him;  and 
left  it  to  his  sagacity  to  discover  the  meaning.  Bruce  im- 
mediately contrived  to  escape,  and  in  a  few  days  arrived 
at  Dumfries,  the  chief  seat  of  his  family  interest,  where  he 
found  a  great  number  of  the  Scottish  nobility  assembled, 
and  among  the  rest  John  Cummin,  with  whom  he  had  for- 
merly lived  in  strict  intimacy. 

The  noblemen  were  astonished  at  the  appearance  of 
Bruce  among  them ;  and  still  more  when  he  told  them, 
that  he  was  come  to  live  or  die  with  them  in  defence  of 
the  liberties  of  his  country.  These  generous  sentiments, 
assisted  by  the  graces  of  his  youth  and  manly  deportment, 
impressed  the  minds  of  his  audience ;  and  they  resolved 
to  use  their  utmost  efforts  in  delivering  their  country  from 
bondage.  Cummin  alone,  who  had  secretly  taken  his 
measures  with  the  king,  opposed  this  general  determina- 
tion ;  and  Bruce,  already  apprized  of  his  treachery,  fol- 
lowed Cummin  on  the  dissolution  of  the  assembly,  and 
attacking  him  in  the  cloisters  of  the  Gray  Friars,  ran  him 
through  the  body. 

The  murder  of  Cummin   sealed  the  conspiracy  of  the 
Scottish  nobles.     The  genius  of  the  nation  roused  itself; 
and  Bruce  was  solemnly  crowned  at  Scone  by  the  bishop 
of  St.  Andrews.      The  English  were  again  expelled  the 
kingdom ;  and  Edward  found,  that  the  Scots,  twice  con- 
quered in  his  reign,  must  yet  be  afresh  subdued.     To  ef- 
fect this,  he  assembled  a  great  army,  and  was  pre- 
,  U~j  paring  to  enter  the  frontiers,  when  he  unexpectedly 
sickened  and  died  near  Carlisle,  in  the  sixty-ninth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty -fifth  of  his  reign.     With  his 


EDWARD   II.  89 

last  breath  he  enjoined  his  son  and  his  successor  to  prose- 
cute the  enterprise,  and  never  to  desist  till  he  had  finally 
subdued  the  kingdom  of  Scotland. 

Edward  II.  was  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  age 
when  he  ascended  the  throne.  He  was  of  an  agreeable 
figure,  and  of  a  mild  and  gentle  disposition ;  but  the  first 
act  of  his  reign  blasted  the  hopes  which  the  English  had 
entertained  of  him.  Equally  incapable  of,  and  averse  to 
business,  he '  entered  Scotland  only  to  retreat ;  he  dis- 
banded his  army,  without  attacking  Bruce  ;  and  by  this 
conduct,  he  convinced  the  barons  that  the  authority  of  the 
crown  was  no  longer  to  be  dreaded,  and  that  they  were  at 
liberty  to  practise  every  insolence  with  impunity. 

Piers  Gaveston,  the  son  of  a  Gascon  knight,  by  his  in- 
sinuating address,  his  elegance  of  form,  and  his  lively  wit, 
had  gained  an  entire  ascendant  over  the  young  Edward  ; 
and  the  late  king,  apprehensive  of  the  consequences,  had 
banished  him  the  kingdom,  and  made  his  son  promise  never 
to  recall  him.  No  sooner,  however,  did  the  young  Edward 
ascend  the  throne,  than  he  recalled  Gaveston,  gave  him  the 
whole  earldom  of  Cornwall,  married  him  to  his  own  niece, 
and  seemed  to  enjoy  no  pleasure  in  his  royal  dignity,  but 
as  it  enabled  him  to  exalt  this  object  of  his  fond  affec- 
tions. The  haughty  barons  were  offended  at  the  superi- 
ority of  a  minion,  whose  birth  they  despised,  and  who 
eclipsed  them  in .  pomp  and  splendour.  In  a  journey  to 
France,  to  espouse  the  princess  Isabella,  Edward  left 
Gaveston  guardian  of  the  realm ;  but  on  his  return  with 
the  young  queen,  Isabella,  who  was  of  an  imperious  and 
intriguing  disposition,  finding  her  husband's  capacity  re- 
quired to  be  governed,  thought  herself  best  entitled  to 
perform  the  office,  and  was  well  pleased  to  see  a  combina- 
tion of  the  nobility  formed  against  the  favourite. 

Thomas,  earl  of  Lancaster,  cousin-german  to  the  king, 
was  at  the  head  of  the  party  among  the  barons. 
That  nobleman,  entering  the  parliament  with  his  jona 
adherents  in  arms,  required  the  banishment  of  Ga- 
veston ;  and  Edward  was  obliged  to  submit ;  but  instead 
of  sending  him  to  his  own  country,  he  appointed  him  lord- 
lieutenant  of  Ireland. 

The  king,  unhappy  in  the  absence  of  his  minion,  em- 
ployed every  expedient  to  soften  the  opposition  of  the  ba* 
rons  to  his  return  ;  and  deeming  matters  sufficiently  pre- 
8* 


90  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

pared  for  his  purpose,  he  ventured  to  recall  Gaveston,  and 
went  to  Chester  to  receive  him  on  his  first  landing  from 
Ireland.  However,  in  defiance  of  the  laws  and  the  king's 
prohibition,  the  barons,  with  a  numerous  retinue  of  armed 
followers,  compelled  Edward  to  devolve  on  a  chosen  junto 
the  whole  authority,  both  of  the  crown  and  the  parliament ; 
and  among  other  regulations  sanctioned  by  this  committee, 
Gaveston  was  forever  banished  the  king's  dominions. 

As  soon,  however,  as  Edward,  by  removing  to  York, 
had  freed  himself  from  the  barons'  power,  he  recalled  Ga- 
veston from  Flanders  ;  and  the  barons,  highly  provoked 
at  this  measure,  flew  to  arms,  with  the  earl  of  Lancaster 
at  their  head.  Edward  left  his  favourite  in  the  castle  of 
Scarborough,  which  was  obliged  to  surrender  to  the  earl 
of  Pembroke.  From  thence  Gaveston  was  conducted  to 
the  castle  of  Dedington,  near  Banbury,  where,  being  left 
with  a  small  guard,  he  was  surprised  by  the  earl  of  War- 
wick ;  and  without  any  regard  to  the  laws,  the  head  of 
the  unhappy  favourite  was  struck  off  by  the  hands  of  the 
executioner.  When  the  king  was  informed  of  Ga- 
|oio  veston's  murder,  he  threatened  vengeance  on  all 
those  who  had  been  active  in  that  bloody  scene  ; 
but  being  less  constant  in  his  enmities  than  in  his  friend- 
ships, he  listened  to  terms  of  accommodation,  and  granted 
the  barons  a  pardon  of  all  offences. 

Immediately  after  Edward's  retreat  from  Scotland,  Ro- 
bert Bruce  left  his  fastnesses ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  nearly 
the  whole  kingdom  acknowledged  his  authority.  The 
castle  of  Stirling,  the  only  fortress  in  Scotland  which  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  the  English,  was  closely  -pressed ; 
and  to  relieve  this  place,  Edward  summoned  his  forces 
from  all  quarters,  and  marched  with  an  army  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men.  At  Bannockburn,  about  two  miles 
from  Stirling,  Bruce,  with  thirty  thousand  hardy  warriors, 
inured  to  all  the  varieties  of  fortune,  and  inflamed  with  the 
love  of  independence,  awaited  the  charge  of  the  enemy. 
A  hill  covered  his  right  flank,  and  a  morass  his  left;  and 
along  the  banks  of  a  rivulet  in  his  front  he  dug  deep  pits ; 
planted  them  with  stakes,  and  covered  the  whole  with 
turf.  The  English,  confident  in  their  superior  numbers, 
rushed  to  the  attack  without  precaution.  Their  cavalry, 
entangled  in  the  pits,  were  thrown  into  disorder ;  and  the 
Scottish  horse,  allowing  them  no  time  to  rally,  attacked 


EDWARD  II.  01 

them,  and  drove  them  off'  the  field  with  considerable  loss. 
Wlnle  the  English  forces  were  alarmed  at  this  unfortunate 
event,  an  army  appeared  on  the  heights  towards  the  left, 
marching  to  surround  them.  This  was  composed  of  wa- 
goners and  sumpter-boys,  whom  Robert  had  supplied  with 
military  standards.  The  stratagem  took  effect ;  a  panic 
seized  the  English,  who  threw  down  their  arms,  and  fled, 
and  were  pursued  to  the  gates  of  Berwick.  Besides  an 
inestimable  booty,  the  Scots  took  many  persons  of  quality 
prisoners,  and  above  four  hundred  gentlemen,  whose  ran- 
som was  a  new  accession  of  strength  to  the  victors. 

This  great  and  decisive  battle  secured  the  independence 
of  Scotland,  and  fixed  the  throne  of  Bruce  ;  whilst 
it  shook  that  of  Edward,  whose  defeat  encouraged  1^1  ' 
the  nobility  to  insist  on  the  renewal  of  their  ordi- 
nances.    After  the  death  of  Gaveston,  the  king's  chief 
favourite  was  Hugh  le  Despenser,  or  Spenser,  a  young 
man  of  high  rank,  and  noble  family.     He  possessed  all 
the  exterior  accomplishments  of  person  and  address,  but 
was  not  endowed  either  with  moderation  or  prudence. 
His  father,  who  was  of  the  same  name,  was  a  nobleman 
venerable  from  his  years,  and  qualified,  by  his  talents  and 
experience,  to  have  supplied  the  defects  both  of  the  king 
and  his  minion  ;  but  Edward's  attachment  rendered  the 
name  of  Spenser  odious ;  and  the  turbulent  Lancaster,  and 
most  of  the  great  barons,  formed  plans  for  his  destruction. 

The  claim  of  Spenser  to  an  estate,  which  had  been  set- 
tled on  the  illustrious  family  of  Mowbray,  was  the  signal 
for  civil  war.  The  earls  of  Lancaster  and  Hereford  flew 
to  arms  ;  and  by  menaces  and  violence  they  extorted  from 
the  king  an  act  of  attainder  against  the  Spensers,  and  of 
indemnity  for  themselves.  This  being  effected,  they  dis- 
banded their  army,  and  separated,  in  security,  as  they  ima- 
gined, to  their  respective  castles.  Edward,  however,  hav- 
ing assembled  an  army,  dropped  the  mask,  and  recalled 
the  Spensers,  whose  sentence  he  declared  to  be  illegal  and 
unjust.  Lancaster,  who  had  hastily  collected  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  fled  with  his  forces  towards  the  north  ;  but  be- 
ing intercepted  at  Boroughbridge,  after  a  slight  action,  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  brought  to  the  king.  Edward, 
though  gentle  by  nature,  remembered  on  this  occasion  the 
fate  of  Gaveston  ;  and  Lancaster,  mounted  upon  a  lean 
horse,  and  exposed  to  the  derision  of  the  people,  was  con- 


92  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ducted  to  an  eminence  near  Fomfret,  one  of  his  own  cas* 
ties,  where  he  suffered  decapitation. 

Edward,  after  another  fruitless  attempt  on  Scotland, 
concluded  a  truce  for  thirteen  years  with  Bruce,  whose 
title  to  the  crown  was  thus  virtually,  though  not  tacitly, 
acknowledged.  He  was,  however,  still  embarrassed  by 
the  demands  of  his  brother-in-law,  Charles  the  Fair,  who 
required  him  to  appear  and  do  homage  for  the  fees  which 
he  held  in  France.  The  queen  had  been  permitted  to  go 
to  Paris,  and  endeavour  to  adjust  in  an  amicable  manner 
the  differences. with  her  brother.  On  her  arrival  in  France, 
Isabella  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  English  fugitives, 
the  remains  of  the  Lancastrian  faction;  Among  these 
was  young  Roger  Mortimer,  a  potent  baron  in  the  Welsh 
marches,  who,  by  the  graces  of  his  person  and  address, 
quickly  advanced  in  the  affections  of  the  queen,  and  at 
last  triumphed  over  her  honour.  The  king,  informed  ot 
these  circumstances,  required  her  speedily  to  return  with 
the  young  prince  Edward,  who  was  then  with  his  mother 
in  Paris ;  but  instead  of  obeying  his  orders,  she  publicly 
declared  that  she  would  never  set  foot  in  England  till 
Spenser  was  removed  from  his  presence  and  councils. 

This  declaration  procured  Isabella  great  popularity  in 
England,  and  threw  a  veil  over  her  treasonable  en- 
1S2fi  terprises;  and  having  affianced  young  Edward 
with  Philippa,  daughter  of  the  count  of  Holland 
and  Hainault,  she  enlisted  three  thousand  men,  sailed 
from  the  harbour  of  Dort,  and  landed,  without  opposition, 
on  the  coast  of  Norfolk.  She  was  immediately  joined  by 
several  of  the  most  powerful  barons ;  and  to  render  her 
cause  popular,  she  renewed  her  declaration,  that  her  sole 
purpose  was  to  free  the  king  and  kingdom  from  the  tyran- 
ny of  the  Spensers. 

The  king,  after  trying  in  vain  to  rouse  the  citizens  of 
London  to  a  sense  of  duty,  departed  for  the  west,  and  was 
hotly  pursued  to  Bristol  by  his  own  brother,  the  earl  of 
Kent,  and  the  foreign  forces  under  John  de  Hainault. 
Disappointed  in  the  loyalty  of  those  parts,  he  passed  over 
into  Wales,  leaving  the  elder  Spenser  governor  of  the  cas- 
tle of  Bristol ;  but  the  garrison  mutinied  against  him,  and 
he  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  This  ve- 
nerable noble,  who  had  nearly  reached  his  ninetieth  year, 
was  without  trial  condemned  to  death  by  the  rebellious 


EDWARD  II.  93 

barons.  He  was  hanged  on  a  gibbet ;  his  body  was  cut 
in  pieces  and  thrown  to  the  dogs  ;  and  his  head  was  sent 
to  Winchester,  where  it  was  set  upon  a  pole,  and  exposed 
to  the  insults  of  the  populace.  Edward  himself  attempted 
to  escape  to  Ireland ;  but  being  driven  back  by  contrary 
winds,  he  was  discovered,  and  committed  to  the  custody 
of  the  earl  of  Leicester,  in  the  castle  of  Kenilworth.  The 
young  Spenser,  his  favourite,  who  also  fell  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemies,  was  executed  like  his  father,  without  any 
appearance  of  a  legal  trial. 

The  diabolical  Isabella,  in  order  to  avail  herself  of  the 
prevailing  delusion,  summoned  in  the  king's  name 
a  parliament  at  Westminster.    A  charge  was  drawn   .  '^' 
up  against  Edward,  in  which,  though  framed  by  his 
inveterate  enemies,  nothing  but  his  want  of  capacity,  or 
his  misfortunes,  could  be  objected  against  him.     The  de- 
position of  the  king,  however,  was  voted  by  parliament ; 
and  the  prince  his  son  was  placed  on  the  throne. 

But  it  was  impossible  that  the  character  and  conduct  of 
Isabella  could  long  be  mistaken.  The  gross  violation  of 
every  duty  and  every  tie  soon  estranged  from  her  the  minds 
of  men ;  the  proofs  "which  daily  broke  out  of  her  criminal 
commerce  with  Mortimer,  increased  the  general  abhor- 
rence against  her;  and  her  hypocrisy  in  publicly  bewailing 
the  king's  unhappy  fate,  was  not  able  to  deceive  even  the 
most  stupid  and  most  prejudiced  of  her  adherents,  hi 
proportion  as  the  queen  became  the  object  of  public  ha- 
tred, the  dethroned  monarch,  who  had  been  the  victim  of 
her  crimes  and  her  ambition,  was  regarded  with  pity  and 
veneration  ;  and  men  became  sensible,  that  all  his  miscon- 
duct, which  faction  had  so  much  exaggerated,  had  been 
owing  to  the  natural  imbecility,  not  to  any  voluntary  de- 
pravity, of  his  character.  The  earl  of  Leicester,  now  earl 
of  Lancaster,  to  whose  custody  he  had  been  committed, 
was  soon  touched  with  those  generous  sentiments ;  and 
besides  treating  his  prisoner  with  gentleness  and  humanity, 
he  was  suspected  to  have  entertained  still  more  honourable 
intentions  in  his  favour.  The  king,  therefore,  was  taken 
from  his  hands,  and  delivered  over  to  lord  Berkeley,  and 
Mautravers  and  Gournay,  who  were  entrusted  alternately, 
each  for  a  month,  with  the  charge  of  guarding  him. 
While  he  was  in  the  custody  of  Berkeley,  he  was  still 
treated  with  the  gentleness  due  to  his  rank  and  his  misfor- 


94  KISTORY    OF    ENGLAND. 

tunes ;  but  when  the  turn  of  Mautravers  and  Gournay 
came,  every  species  of  indignity  was  practised  against  him, 
as  if  their  intention  had  been  to  break  entirely  the  prince's 
spirit,  and  to  employ  his  sorrows  and  afflictions,  instead  of, 
more  violent  and  mure  dangerous  expedients,  for  the  in- 
struments of  his  murder.  But  as  this  method  of  destruc- 
tion appeared  too  slow  to  the  impatient  Mortimer,  he  se- 
cretly sent  orders  to  the  two  keepers,  who  were  at  his  de- 
votion, instantly  to  despatch  him.     Taking  advantage  of 

Berkeley's,  sickness,  in  whose  custody  he  then  was, 
..  qcfrC  and  who  was  thereby  incapacitated  from  attending 

his  charge,  they  came  to  Berkeley  castle,  and  put- 
ting themselves  in  possession  of  the  king's  person,  they 
threw  him  on  a  bed,  and  holding  him  down  with  a  table, 
thrust  into  his  fundament  a  red  hot  iron,  which  they  in- 
serted through  a  horn,  that  no  external  marks  of  violence 
might  be  seen  on  his  person.  The  dreadful  deed,  howe- 
ver, was  discovered  to  all  the  guards  and  attendants  by  the| 
screams  with  which  the  agonizing  king  filled  the  castle,,; 
while  his  bowels  were  consuming. 

Thus  died  Edward  II.,  than  whom  it  is  not  easy  to  ima-S 
gine  a  more  innocent  and  inoffensive  man,  nor  a  prince] 
less  capable  of  governing  a  fierce  and  turbulent  people.  j 
Obliged  to  devolve  on  others  the  weight  of  which  he  had] 
neither  ability  nor  inclination  to  bear,  he  wanted  penetra-j 
tion  to  choose  ministers  and  favourites  qualified  for  the  trust.) 

CHAP.  IV. 

The  reign  of  Edward  III. 

The  party  which  had  deposed  the  unfortunate  monarch, 
deemed  it  requisite  for  their  security,  to  obtain  an  indem- 
nity from  parliament  for  all"  their  proceedings.  All  the 
attainders,  also,  which  had  passed  against  the  earl  of  Lan- 
caster and  his  adherents,  were  easily  reversed  during  the 
triumph  of  their  party.  A  council  of  regency  was  like- 
Wise  appointed  by  parliament,  consisting  of  five  prelates* 
and  seven  lay  lords  ;  and  the  earl  of  Lancaster  was  nomi- 
nated guardian  of  the  young  king,  Edward  III. 

Mortimer,  though  not  included  in  the  regency,  rendered 
that  council  entirely  useless,  by  usurping  to  himself  the 
whole  sovereign  authority.  He  never  consulted  either 
the  princes  of  the  blood  or  the  nobility  on  any  public 


Edward  the  Second  surrendering  his  Crown. 


Murder  of  Edward  the  Second. 


EDWARD   III.  95 


measure ;  and  he  affected  a  state  and  dignity  equal  or  su- 
perior to  those  of  royalty.  Edward,  who  had  attained 
his  eighteenth  year,  repined  at  the  fetters  in  which  he  was 
held  by  this  insolent  minister ;  but  so  much  was  he  sur- 
rounded by  the  emissaries  of  Mortimer,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  conduct  the  project  for  subverting  him  with  the  greatest 
secrecy  and  precaution.  The  queen-dowager  and  Mor- 
timer lodged  in  the  castle  of  Nottingham ;  the  king  also 
was  admitted,  though  with  a  few  only  of  his  attendants ; 
and  as  the  castle  was  strictly  guarded,  it  became  necessary 
to  communicate  the  design  to  Sir  William  Eland,  the 
governor,  who  zealously  took  part  in  it.  By  his  direction, 
the  king's  associates  were  admitted  through  a  subterra- 
neous passage  ;  and  Mortimer,  without  having  it  in  his 
power  to  make  resistance,  was  suddenly  seized  in  an 
apartment  adjoining  to  the  queen's.  A  parliament  was 
immediately  summoned  for  his  condemnation ;  and  such 
was  the  notoriety  of  his  infamous  conduct,  that  without 
trial,  or  examining  a  witness,  he  was  sentenced  to  be 
hung  on  a  gibbet  at  the  Elms,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
London.  The  queen  was  confined  to  her  own  house  at 
Risings;  and  though  the  king,  during  the  remainder  of 
her  life,  paid  her  a  visit  once  or  twice  a  year,  she  never 
regained  any  credit  or  influence. 

Edward,  having  now  assumed  the  reins  of  government, 
applied  himself  to  redress    all   those    grievances 
1  Wi  w^ch  haQl  proceeded  from  the  late  abuse  of  autho- 
rity.    The  severity  with  which  he  caused  justice 
to  be  administered,  soon  restored  the  kingdom  to  internal 
tranquility ;  and  in  proportion  as  the  government  acquired 
stability  at  home,  it  became  formidable  to  its  neighbours. 
Edward  made  a  successful  irruption  into  Scotland,  for  the 
purpose  of  reinstating  Edward    Baliol  in  possession  of 
the  crown  of  that  kingdom  ;  and  in  an  engagement  at 
Halidown-hill,  a  little  north  of  Berwick,  the  Scots  were 
defeated,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  men. 
It  had  long  been  a  prevailing  opinion,  that  the  crown 
of  France  could  never  descend  to  a  female,  and 
,goy  this  maxim  was  supposed  to   be  confirmed  by  a 
clause  in  the  Salic  code ;  but  the  king  of  England, 
at  an  early  age,  embraced  a  notion  that  he  was  entitled, 
in  right  of  his  mother,  to  the  succession  of  the  kingdom, 
and  that  the  claim  of  the  nephew  was  preferable  to  that 


96  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

of  Philip  de  Valois,  the  cousin-german,  who  had  been 
unanimously  placed  on  the  throne  of  France.  His  own 
claim,  however,  was  so  unreasonable,  and  so  thoroughly 
disavowed  by  the  whole  French  nation,  that  it  is  probable 
Edward  would  never  have  prosecuted  it,  had  not  some 
jealousies  and  misunderstanding  arisen  between  the  two 
monarchs. 

Determined  to  engage  in  this  chimerical  attempt,  the 
king  began  with  opening  his  intentions  to  the  count  of 
Hainault,  his  father-in-law  ;  and  having  engaged  him  in 
his  interests,  he  employed  the  good  offices  and  counsels 
of  that  prince  in  drawing  into  his  alliance  the  other  sove- 
reigns of  that  neighbourhood.  The  duke  of  Brabant  was 
induced,  by  his  mediation,  and  by  large  remittances  of 
money  from  England,  to  promise  his  concurrence  ;  the 
archbishop  of  Cologne,  the  duke  of  Gueldres,  the  mar- 
quis of  Juliers,  the  count  of  Namur,  the  lords  of  Fauque- 
mont  and  Baquen,  were  engaged  by  like  motives  to  em- 
brace the  English  alliance.  These  sovereign  princes  could 
supply  either  from  their  own  states,  or  from  the  bordering 
countries,  great  numbers  of  warlike  troops  ;  and  nothing 
was  wanting  to  make  the  force  on  that  quarter  very  formi- 
dable, but  the  accession  of  Flanders,  which  Edward  pro- 
cured by  means  rather  extraordinary  and  unusual. 

After  consulting  his  parliament,  and  obtaining  its  con- 
sent, Edward,  accompanied  by  a  body  of  English  forces, 
and  by  several  of  his  nobility,  passed  over  to  Flanders. 
The  Flemings,  as  vassals  of  France,  pretending  some 
scruples  with  regard  to  the  invasion  of  their  liege  lord, 
Edward  assumed  the  title  of  king  of  France ;  but  he  did 
not  venture  on  this  step  without  hesitation  and  reluctance, 
and  a  presage  of  the  calamities  which  he  was  about  to  in- 
flict and  entail  on  both  countries. 

The  first  attempts  of  the  king  were  unsuccessful ;  but  he 
was  a  prince  of  too  much  spirit  to  be  discouraged  by  the 
difficulties  of  an  undertaking.  By  confirming  the  ancient 
charters  and  the  privileges  of  boroughs,  he  obtained  from 
the  parliament  a  considerable  supply ;  and  with  a  fleet  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  sail,  he  again  embarked  for  the 
continent.  Off  Sluise  he  was  encountered  by  a  French 
fleet,  consisting  of  four  hundred  vessels.  The  inferiority 
of  the  English  in  number,  was  compensated  by  their  nau- 
tical skill,  and  the  presence  of  their  monarch.     The  en- 


EDWARD   III.  97 

gagement  was  fierce  and  bloody ;  and  the  Flemings,  near 
whose  coast  the  action  took  place,  issued  from  their  har- 
bours, and  reinforced  the  English.  Two  hundred  and 
thirty  French  ships  were  taken ;  and  thirty  thousand  of 
their  men  perished.  Numbers  now  flocked  to  the  standard 
of  Edward ;  and  with  an  army  of  above  a  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  he  invested  Tournay.  That  place  had  been 
provided  with  a  garrison  of  fourteen  thousand  men ;  but 
after  the  siege  had  continued  ten  weeks,  the  city  was  re- 
duced to  distress ;  and  Philip  advanced  towards  the  English 
camp,  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  host,  with  the  intention  of 
avoiding  a  decisive  action,  but  of  throwing  succours  into 
the  place.  Both  armies  continued  in  sight  of  each  other 
without  engaging;  and,  whilst  in  this  situation,  Jane, 
countess  dowager  of  Hainault,  interposed  her  good  offices 
in  order  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood.  This  princess 
was  mother-in-law  to  Edward,  and  sister  to  Philip ;  and 
her  pious  efforts  prevailed  on  them  both,  though  they  could 
not  lay  aside,  at  least  to  suspend  their  animosities,  by  sub- 
scribing a  truce  for  twelve  months. 

Edward  returned  to  England,  deeply  chagrined  at  the 
unfortunate  issue  of  his  military  operations ;  and  he  vent- 
ed his  ill  humour  on  the  officers  of  the  revenue  and  col- 
lectors of  taxes.  In  order  to  obtain  a  new  supply  from  the 
parliament,  the  king  had  been  obliged  to  subscribe  to  nearly 
the  same  restrictions  as  had  been  imposed  on  Henry  III. 
and  Edward  II.  No  sooner,  however  was  he  possessed 
of  the  necessary  supply,  than  he  revoked  and  annulled  his 
concessions ;  and  he  afterwards  obtained  from  his  parlia- 
ment a  legal  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  statute,  which  im- 
posed those  restrictions.  Edward  had  experienced  so 
many  mortifications  in  his  war  with  France,  that  he  would 
probably  have  dropped  his  claim,  had  not  a  revolution  in 
Brittany  opened  to  him  more  promising  views. 

John  III.,  duke  of  Brittany,  having  no  issue,  was  solici- 
tous to  prevent  those  disorders  to  which,  on  the  event  of 
his  demise,  a  disputed  succession  might  expose  his  subjects. 
For  that  purpose,  he  bestowed  his  niece,  whom  he  deemed 
his  heir,  in  marriage  on  Charles  of  Blois,  nephew  of  the 
king  of  France ;  and  all  his  vassals,  and  among  the  rest 
the  count  of  Montfort,  his  brother  by  a  second  marriage, 
swore  fealty  to  Charles  and  to  his  consort  as  to  their  fu- 
ture sovereigns.     But  on  the  death  of  the  aged  duke,  the 

*7 


98  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

count  of  Montfort  made  a  voyage  to  England ;  and  offer- 
ing to  do  homage  to  Edward,  as  king  of  France,  for  the 
duchy  of  Brittany,  he  proposed  a  strict  alliance  for  the 
support  of  their  mutual  pretensions.  Edward  immediate- 
ly saw  the  advantages  attending  this  treaty ;  and  it  re- 
quired a  very  short  negotiation  to  conclude  an  alliance  be- 
tween two  men,  who,  though  their  pleas  with  regard  to  the 
preference  of  male  or  female  succession  were  directly  oppo- 
site, were  intimately  connected  by  their  immediate  interests. 

Soon  after,  however,  Montfort  fell  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  was  conducted  as  a  prisoner  to  Paris,  and 
|0  4Q  snut  UP  m  tne   Louvre.     This   event   seemed  to 
put  an  end  to  his  pretensions;  but  his   consort 
assembled  the  inhabitants  of  Rennes,  deplored  to  them 
the  calamity  of  their  sovereign,  and  entreated  them  to 
resist  a  usurper,  who  had  been  imposed  on  them  by  the 
arms   of  France.     Inspired  by  the  noble  conduct  of  the 
princess,  the  states  of  Brittany  vowed  to  live  and  die 
with  her  in  defending  the  rights  of  her  family.     The  coun- 
tess shut  herself  up  in  Hennebonne,  which  was  invested 
by  Charles  of  Blois,  who,  after  several  reiterated  attacks, 
was  compelled  to  abandon  the  siege  on  the  arrival  of  suc- 
cours from  England. 

After  the  death  of  Robert  of  Artois,  whom  the  king  of 
England  had  despatched  to  Brittany  with  a  considerable 
reinforcement,  Edward  undertook  in  person  the  defence 
of  the  countess  of  Montfort.  The  king  landed  at  Mor- 
bian,  near  Vannes,  with  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  men, 
and  commenced  the  three  important  sieges  of  Vannes,  of 
Rennes,  and  of  Nantz ;  but  by  undertaking  too  much,  he 
failed  of  success  in  all  his  enterprises.  The  duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, eldest  son  of  Philip  king  of  France,  appeared  in 
Brittany  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  in- 
fantry and  four  thousand  cavalry.  Edward  was  obliged 
to  concentrate  his  forces,  and  to  entrench  himself  before 
Vannes,  where  the  duke  of  Normandy  soon  after  arrived, 
and  in  a  manner  invested  the  besiegers.  The  English 
drew  all  their  subsistence  from  England,  exposed  to  ^he 
hazards  of  the  sea,  and  sometimes  to  those  which  arose 
from  the  fleet  of  the  enemy;  and,  in  this  dangerous  situ^ 
ation,  Edward  willingly  accepted  the  mediation  of  the 
pope's  legates,  and  concluded  a  truce  for  three  years.  By 
this  truce  all  prisoners  were  to  be  released,  the  places  in 


EDWARD  III.  99 

Brittany  to  remain  with  their  present  possessors,  and  Van- 
nes  to  be  sequestered  into  the  hands  of  the  legates,  to  be 
afterwards  disposed  of  according  to  their  pleasure. 

The  truce,  however,  was  of  a  very  short  dura- 
tion ;  and  each  monarch  endeavoured  to  inculpate  j  ^ ,  \ 
the  other  for  its  infraction.     The  parliament,  whom 
Edward  affected  to  consult  on  all  occasions,  advised  the 
king  not  to  be  amused  by  a  fraudulent  truce,  and  granted 
supplies  for  the  renewal  of  the  war.     The  earl  of  Derby, 
with  an  English  army,  was  sent  into  Guienne  ;  but 
Edward,  informed  of  the  great  danger  to  which  that  ..  U^A 
province  was  exposed  from  the  duke  of  Normandy, 
prepared  a  force  for  its  relief.     He  embarked  at  South- 
ampton, with  his  son  the  prince  of  Wales,  and  the  flower 
of  his  nobility ;  but  the  winds  proving  contrary,  he  was 
prevailed  on  to  change  the  destination  of  his  enterprise  ; 
and  ordering  his  fleet  to  sail  to  Normandy,  he  safely  dis- 
embarked his  forces  at  La  Hogue.     Edward  spread  his 
army  over  the  whole  country,  defeated  a  body  of  troops 
that  had  been  collected  for  the  defence  of  Caen,  and  took 
^nd  plundered  that  rich  city.     He  moved  next  towards 
Rouen ;  but  he  found  the  bridge  over  the  Seine  broken 
down,  and\  the  king  of  France  encamped  on  the  opposite 
bank  with  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men. 

Edward  perceived  that  the  French  intended  to  inclose 
him  in  their  country  ;  and  therefore,  by  a  secret  and  rapid 
movement,  he  gained  Poissy,  passed  the  Seine,  and  ad- 
vanced by  quick  marches  towards  Flanders.  But  as  he 
approached  the  Somme,  he  found  himself  in  the  same  dif- 
ficulty as  before  ;  all  the  bridges  on  that  river  were  either 
broken  down  or  strongly  guarded ;  and  an  army  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  opposite  banks.  The  promise  of  a  reward 
induced  a  peasant  to  betray  the  interests  of  his  country, 
and  to  inform  Edward  of  a  ford  below  Abbeville.  The 
king  threw  himself  into  the  river  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
drove  the  enemy  from  their  station,  and  pursued  them  to 
a  distance  on  the  plain.  As  the  rear  guard  of  the  English 
passed,  the  French  army  under  Philip  arrived  at  the  ford; 
and  Edward,  sensible  that  an  engagement  was  unavoida- 
ble, adopted  a  prudent  resolution.  He  chose  his  ground 
with  advantage,  near  the  village  of  Crecy,*  drew  up  his 

*  The  battle  of  Crecy,  which  was  fought  August  26,  be^an  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  lasted  till  dark. 


100  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

army  on  a  gentle  ascent,  and  divided  them  into  three  lines : 
the  first  was  commanded  by  the  prince  of  Wales,  and  un- 
der him,  by  the  earls  of  Warwick  and  Oxford,  and  other 
noblemen  ;  the  second,  by  the  earls  of  Arundel  and  North- 
ampton ;  and  the  third,  by  the  king  himself.  His  flanks 
were  secured  by  trenches  ;  and  according  to  some  histo- 
rians, several  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  in  his  front. 

The  French  army,  imperfectly  formed,  and  already  fa- 
tigued and  disordered,  arrived  in  presence  of  the  enemy. 
The  first  line,  consisting  of  fifteen  thousand  Genoese  cross- 
bow men,  was  commanded  by  Anthony  Doria  and  Charles 
Grimaldi ;  the  second  was  led  by  the  count  of  Alengon, 
brother  to  the  king ;  and  at  the  head  of  the  third  was 
Philip  himself,  accompanied  by  the  kings  of  Bohemia,  of 
the  Romans,  and  of  Majorca,  with  all  the  nobility  and 
great  vassals  of  the  crown  of  France.  The  battle  became, 
for  some  time,  hot  and  dangerous  ;  and  the  earl  of  War- 
wick, apprehensive  of  the  event  from  the  superior  num- 
bers of  the  French,  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  king, 
and  entreated  him  to  send  succours  to  the  relief  of  the 
prince  of  Wales.  Edward  had  chosen  his  station  on  the 
top  of  the  hill ;  and  he  surveyed  in  tranquility  the  scene 
of  action.  When  the  messenger  accosted  him,  his  first 
question  was,  whether  the  prince  was  slain  or  wounded  1 
On  receiving  an  answer  in  the  negative,  "  return,"  said  he, 
•f  to  my  son,  and  tell  him  that  I  reserve  the  honour  of  the 
day  to  him :  I  am  confident  that  he  will  show  himself 
worthy  of  the  honour  of  knighthood  which  I  so  lately  con- 
ferred upon  him :  he  will  be  able,  without  my  assistance, 
to  repel  the  enemy."  This  speech  being  reported  to  the 
prince  and  his  attendants,  inspired  them  with  fresh  cou- 
rage :  they  made  an  attack  with  redoubled  vigour  on  the 
French,  in  which  the  count  of  Alen9on  was  slain.  In  vain 
the  king  of  France  advanced  with  the  rear  to  sustain  the 
line  commanded  by  his  brother.  The  whole  French  army 
took  to  flight,  and  was  followed  and  put  to  the  sword, 
without  mercy,  by  the  enemy,  till  the  darkness  of  the  night 
put  an  end  to  the  pursuit.  The  king,  on  his  return  to  the 
camp,  flew  into  the  arms  of  the  prince  of  Wales,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  my  brave  son !  persevere  in  your  honourable 
cause :  you  are  my  son ;  for  valiantly  have  you  acquitted 
yourself  to-day :  you  have  shown  yourself  worthy  of  em- 
pire." 


edward  '*& :  ■ ',  :,,::'''.  •'  : '  ■',  !  f 01-' 

In  this  battle  there  fell,  by  a  moderate  computation, 
twelve  hundred  French  knights,  fourteen  hundred  gentle- 
men, four  thousand  men  at  arms,  besides  about  thirty 
thousand  of  inferior  rank :  many  of  the  principal  nobility 
of  France,  the  dukes  of  Lorraine  and  Bourbon,  the  earls  of 
Flanders,  Blois,  Vaudemont,  and  Aumale,  were  left  on  the 
field  of  battle.  The  kings  also  of  Bohemia  and  Majorca 
were  slain.  The  former  was  blind  from  age ;  but  being 
resolved  to  Hazard  his  person,  and  set  an  example  to  others, 
he  ordered  the  reins  of  his  bridle  to  be  tied  on  each  side 
to  the  horses  of  two  gentlemen  of  his  train  ;  and  his  dead 
body,  and  those  of  his  attendants,  were  afterwards  found 
among  the  slain,  with  their  horses  standing  by  them  in 
that  situation.  His  crest  was  three  ostrich  feathers ;  and 
his  motto  these  German  words,  Ich  dien,  I  serve :  which 
the  prince  of  Wales  and  his  successors  adopted  in  memo- 
rial of  this  great  victory. 

The  great  prudence  of  Edward  appeared  not  only  in 
obtaining  this  memorable  victory,  but  in  the  measures 
which  he  pursued  after  it.  Not  elated  by  his  present  pros- 
perity, so  far  as  to  expect  the  total  conquest  of  France,  or 
even  that  of  any  considerable  provinces,  he  limited  his 
ambition  to  the  conquest  of  Calais  ;  and  after  the  interval 
of  a  few  days,  which  he  employed  in  interring  the  slain, 
he  marched  with  his  victorious  army,  and  presented  him- 
self before  that  place. 

John  Vienne,  a  valiant  knight  of  Burgundy,  was  gover- 
nor of  Calais,  and  being  supplied  with  every  thing  neces- 
sary for  defence,  he  encouraged  the  townsmen  to  perform 
to  the  utmost  their  duty  to  their  king  and  country.  Ed- 
ward, therefore,  sensible  from  the  beginning  that  it  was  in 
vain  to  attempt  the  place  by  force,  purposed  only  to  reduce 
it  by  famine.  This  siege  employed  him  nearly  twelve 
months ;  and  during  this  interval,  there  passed  in  different 
places  many  other  events,  all  of  which  redounded  to  the 
honour  of  the  English  arms.  In  vain  Philip  attempted  to 
relieve  Calais  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  thousand  men. 
That  fortress  was  now  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  by 
famine  and  the  fatigue  of  the  inhabitants  ;  but  Ed- 
Ward  insisted  that  six  of  the  most  considerable  citi-  t'<>?j 
zens  should  atone  for  the  obstinacy  of  the  rest,  by 
submitting  their  lives  to  his  disposal,  and  by  presenting, 
with' ropes  about  their  necks,  the  keys  of  the  city.  This 
9* 


10&  HJSTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

intelligence  struck  the  inhabitants  with  new  consternation. 
At  length,  Eustace  de  St.  Pierre,  whose  name  deserves  to 
be  recorded,  declared  himself  willing  to  encounter  death 
for  the  safety  of  his  friends  and  companions :  the  generous 
flame  was  communicated  to  others  ;  and  the  whole  num- 
ber was  soon  completed.  They  appeared  before  Edward 
in  the  guise  of  malefactors ;  but  at  the  intercession  of  the 
queen  Philippa,  these  excellent  citizens  were  dismissed 
with  presents. 

To  secure  the  possession  of  Calais,  Edward  ordered  all 
the  inhabitants  to  quit  the  town,  and  peopled  it  anew  with 
English ;  a  policy  which  probably  secured  that  important 
fortress  so  long  to  his  successors.  Through  the  mediation 
of  the  pope's  legates,  he  soon  after  concluded  a  truce  with 
France ;  and  on  his  return  to  England,  he  instituted  the 
order  Of  the  Garter.  The  number  received  into  this  order 
consisted  of  twenty-five  persons,  besides  the  sovereign. 
A  vulgar  story  prevails,  but  is  not  supported  by  authority, 
that,  at  a  court-ball,  the  king's  mistress,  the  countess  of 
Salisbury,  dropped  her  garter ;  and  Edward  taking  it  up, 
observed  some  of  the  courtiers  to  smile,  upon  which  he 
called  out,  honi  soit  qui  mally  pense,  "  evil  to  him  that  evil 
thinks  ;"  and  in  memorial  of  this  event,  he  instituted  the 
order  of  the  garter,  with  these  words  for  its  motto. 

During  the  truce  between  France  and  England,  Philip 
de  Valois  died,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  throne  by 
-orrt  his  son  John,  who  was  distinguished  by  many  vir- 
tues, but  was  destitute  of  that  masterly  prudence 
which  the  situation  of  the  kingdom  required.  The  chief 
source  of  the  intestine  calamities  of  France  was  Charles, 
king  of  Navarre,  who  received  the  epithet  of  "  wicked,'* 
and  whose  conduct  fully  entitled  him  to  that  appellation, 
though  he  possessed  talents  of  the  very  first  order,  if  they 
had  been  honourably  directed.  This  prince  did  not  con- 
ceal his  pretensions,  in  right  of  his  mother,  to  the  throne 
of  France,  and  increased  the  number  of  his  partisans 
throughout  the  kingdom.  He  even  seduced,  by  his  ad- 
dress, Charles,  the  eldest  son  of  John,  who  was  the  first 
that  bore  the  name  of  dauphin.  But  Charles  was  made 
sensible  of  the  folly  and  danger  of  the  connection ;  and 
in  concert  with  his  father,  he  invited  the  king  of  Navarre, 
and  other  noblemen  of  the  party,  to  an  entertainment  at 
Rouen,  where  they  were  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  John. 


EDWARD    III.  103 

Some  of  the  latter  were  immediately  led  to  execution ;  and 
the  king  of  Navarre  was  thrown  into  prison.  Philip,  the 
brother  of  the  king  of  Navarre,  flew  to  arms,  and  implored 
the  protection  of  England ;  and  as  the  truce  was  expired, 
Edward  was  at  liberty  to  support  the  French  malcontents. 
Whilst  the  king  himself  ravaged  Picardy,  the  Scots,  taking 
advantage  of  his  absence,  collected  an  army  for  an  incur- 
sion against  England.  Edward,  therefore,  returned  to 
defend  that  kingdom  against  the  threatened  invasion ;  and 
after  burning  and  destroying  the  whole  country  from  Ber- 
wick to  Edinburgh,  he  induced  Baliol  to  resign  the  crown 
of  Scotland  into  his  hands,  in  consideration  of  an  annual 
pension  of  two  thousand  pounds. 

In  the  mean  time,  young  Edward,  accompanied  by  the 
earls  of  Warwick  and  Salisbury,  had  arrived  in  the 
|orr  Garonne,  with  three  hundred  sail.     Being  joined 
by  the  vassals  of  Gascony,  he  reduced  all  the  villa- 
ges and  several  towns  of  Languedoc,  to  ashes.     In  a  se- 
cond campaign,  at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  men,  he 
penetrated  into  the  heart  of  France ;  when  he  was  inform- 
ed that  the  French  king  was  approaching  with  an  army  of 
sixty  thousand  men. 

Near  Poictiers,  prince  Edward  prepared  for  battle  with 
equal  courage  and  prudence ;  but  the  most  splendid  mili- 
tary qualities  could  not  have  extricated  him,  if  the  French 
had  availed  themselves  of  their  superior  numbers,  and  con- 
tented themselves  with  intercepting  his  provisions.  So 
sensible,  indeed,  was  the  prince  of  his  desperate  condition, 
that  he  offered  to  purchase  his  retreat  by  ceding  all  his 
conquests,  and  by  stipulating  not  to  serve  against  France 
for  seven  years ;  but  John  required  that  he  should  surren- 
der himself  prisoner  with  one  hundred  of  his  attendants. 
The  prince  rejected  this  proposal  with  disdain,  and  decla- 
red that  England  should  never  be  obliged  to  pay  the  price 
of  his  ransom. 

All  hopes  of  accommodation  being  at  an  end,  the  prince 
of  Wales  strengthened  by  new  entrenchments  the  post 
which  he  had  before  so  judiciously  chosen ;  and  contrived 
an  ambush  of  three  hundred  men  at  arms,  and  as  many 
archers,  whom  he  put  under  the  command  of  the-Captal 
de  Buche,  and  ordered  to  make  a  circuit,  that  they  might 
fall  on  the  flank  or  rear  of  the  French  army  during  the 
engagement     The  van  of  his  army  was  commanded  by 


104  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  earl  of  Warwick,  the  rear  by  the  earls  of  Salisbury 
and  Suffolk,  the  main  body  by  the  prince  himself. 

John  also  arranged  his  forces  in  three  divisions ;  the 
first  was  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Orleans,  the  king's 
brother;  the  second  by  the  dauphin,  attended  by  his  two 
younger  brothers ;  the  third  by  the  king  himself,  who  had 
by  his  side  Philip,  his  fourth  and  favounte  son,  then  about 
fourteen  years  of  age.  There  was  no  reaching  the  English 
army  but  through  a  narrow  lane,  covered  on  each  side  by 
hedges ;  and  in  order  to  open  this  passage,  the  mareschals 
Andrehen  and  Clermont  were  ordered  to  advance  with  a 
separate  detachment  of  men  at  arms.  While  they  marched 
along  the  lane,  a  body  of  English  archers,  who  lined  the 
hedges,  plied  them  on  each  side  with  their  arrows ;  and  . 
being  very  near  them,  yet  placed  in  perfect  safety,  they 
coolly  took  their  aim  against  the  enemy,  and  slaughtered 
them  with  impunity.  The  French  detachment,  much  dis- 
couraged by  the  unequal  combat,  and  diminished  in  their 
number,  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  lane,  where  they  met,  on. 
the  open  ground,  the  prince  of  Wales  himself,  at  the  head 
of  a  chosen  body,  ready  for  their  reception.  They  were 
discomfited  and  overthrown ;  one  of  the  mareschals  was 
slain,  the  other  taken  prisoner,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
detachment,  who  were  still  in  the  lane,  and  exposed  to 
the  shot  of  the  enemy,  without  being  able  to  make  resist-  . 
ance,  recoiled  upon  their  own  army,  and  put  every  thing 
into  disorder.  In  the  critical  moment,  the  Captal  de  Buche 
unexpectedly  appeared,  and  attacked  in  flank  the  dauphin's 
line,  which  fell  into  some  confusion.  Landas,  Bodenai, 
and  St.  Venant,  to  whom  the  care  of  that  young  prince  and 
his  brothers  had  been  committed,  too.  anxious  for  their 
charge,  or  for  their  own  safety,  carried  them  off  the  field, 
and  set  the  example  of  flight,  which  was  followed  by  that 
whole  division.  The  duke  of  Orleans,  seized  with  a  like 
panic,  and  imagining  all  was  lost,  thought  no  longer  of 
fighting,  but  carried  off  his  division  by  a  retreat,  which 
soon  turned  into  a  flight.  The  division  under  king  John 
was  more  numerous  than  the  whole  English  army;  and 
the  only  resistance  made  that  day  was  by  his  line  of  battle. 
The  prince  of  Wales  fell  with  impetuosity  on  some  German 
cavalry  placed  in  the  front ;  a  fierce  battle  ensued,  but  at 
length  that  body  of  cavalry  gave  way,  and  left  the  king 
himself  exposed  to  the  whole  fury  of  the  enemv.     Tbn 


EDWARD  III.  105 

ranks  were  every  moment  thinned  around  him ;  the  nobles 
fell  by  his  side  one  after  another ;  his  son,  scarcely  four- 
teen years  of  age,  received  a  wound  whilst  fighting  va- 
liantly in  defence  of  his  father.  The  king  himself,  spent 
with  fatigue,  and  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  might  easily 
have  been  slain;  but  every  English  gentleman,  ambitious 
of  taking  alive  the  royal  prisoner,  spared  him  in  the  ac- 
tion, exhorted  him  to  surrender,  and  offered  him  quarter. 
Several  who  attempted  to  seize  him  suffered  for  their  teme- 
rity. He  still  cried  out,  "  Where  is  my  cousin,  the  prince 
of  Wales  ?"  and  seemed  unwilling  to  become  prisoner  to 
any  person  of  inferior  rank ;  but  being  told  that  the  prince 
was  at  a  distance,  he  threw  down  his  guantlet,  and  yielded 
himself,  together  with  his  son,  to  Dennis  de  Morbec,  a 
knight  of  Arras. 

The  moderation  displayed  by  Edward  on  this  occasion, 
has  forever  stamped  his  character.  At  a  repast  prepared 
in  his  tent  for  his  prisoner,  he  served  at  the  royal  captive's 
table  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  his  retinue  ;  he  stood  behind 
the  king's  chair,  and  refused  to  be  seated.  All  his  father's 
pretensions  to  the  crown  of  France  were  buried  in  oblivion; 
and  John  received,  when  a  captive,  those  honours  which 
had  been  denied  him  when  on  a  throne. 

The  prince  of  Wales  concluded  a  truce  of  two  years 
with  France,  that  he  might  conduct  the  captive  king 
with  safety  into  England.    He  landed  at  Southwark,  *  n-l 
and  was  met  by  a  great  concourse  of  people  of  all 
ranks.      The  prisoner   was  clad  in  royal  apparel,  and 
mounted  on  a  white  steed,  distinguished  by  its  size  and 
beauty,  and  by  the  richness  of  its  furniture.     The  conque- 
ror rode  by  his  side  in  a  meaner  attire,  on  a  black  palfry. 
In  this  situation  be  passed  through  the  streets  of  London, 
and  presented  the  king  of  France  to  his  father,  who  advan- 
ced to  meet  him,  and  received  him  with  the  same  courtesy 
as  if  he  had  voluntarily  paid  him  a  visit. 

The  captivity  of  John  produced  in  France  the  most 
horrible  anarchy.  Every  man  was  thrown  loose  and  in- 
dependent of  his  fellows;  and  licentiousness  reigned  with- 
out control.  At  length,  in  a  conference  between  the  Eng- 
glish  and  French  commissioners  at  Bretigni,  a  peace  be- 
tween the  two  nations  was  concluded  on  the  following 
conditions.  It  was  stipulated  that  king  John  should  be 
restored  to  his  liberty,  and  should  pay  as  his  ransom  three 


106  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

millions  of  crowns  of  gold  ;*  that  the  king  of  England 
should  forever  renounce  all  claim  to  the  crown  of  France, 
and  to  the  provinces  of  Normandy,  Maine,  Touraine,  and 
Anjou,  possessed  by  his  ancestors,  and  should  receive  in 
exchange  the  provinces  of  Poictou,  Xaintogne,  l'Angenois, 
Perigort,  the  Limousin,  Quercy,  Rovergne,  PAngoumois, 
and  other  districts  in  that  quarter,  together  with  Calais, 
Guisnes,  Montreuil,  and  the  county  of  Ponthieu,  on  the 
other  side  of  France;  that  Edward  should  renounce  his 
confederacy  with  the  Flemings,  and  John  his  connec-  ; 
tions  with  the  Scots;  and  that  forty  hostages  should  be 
sent  to  England  as  a  security  for  the  execution  of  these 
conditions. 

John  no  sooner  regained  his  liberty,  than  he  prepared 
to  execute  the  terms  with  that  fidelity  and  honour 

l^fiO  ky  which  he  was  characterized.  However,  not-; 
withstanding  his  endeavours,  many  difficulties  oc- 
curred in  fulfilling  his  purposes  ;  and,  therefore,  in  order 
to  adjust  some  disputes,  he  formed  a  resolution  of  coming 
over  to  England.  His  council  endeavoured  to  dissuade 
him  from  his  design ;  but  he  replied,  "  that  though  good 
faith  were  banished  from  the  rest  of  the  earth,  she  ought 
still  to  retain  her  habitation  in  the  breast  of  princes." 
John  therefore  came  to  London,  and  was  lodged  in  the 
Savoy,  where  he  fell  sick  and  died. 

John  was  succeeded  in  the  throne  by  Charles  the  dau- 
phin, who  immediately  directed  his  attention  to  the 

I of>4  internal  disorders  which  afflicted  his  kingdom.  His 
chief  obstacle  proceeded  from  large  bands  of  mili- 
tary adventurers,  who  had  followed  the  standard  of  Ed- 
ward, but  who,  on  the  conclusion  of  peace,  refused  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  persevered  in  a  life  of  rapine,  and  asso- 
ciating themselves  under  the  name  of"  companions,"  were 
a  terror  to  the  country.  At  length,  they  enlisted  under  the 
standard  of  Du  Guesclin,  who  led  them  against  Peter  the 
Cruel,  king  of  Castile.  Peter  fled  from  his  dominions,  j 
sought  refuge  in  Guienne,  and  craved  the  protection  of 
the  prince  of  Wales,  whom  his  father  had  invested  with 
the  sovereignty  of  these  conquered  countries,  by  the  title 
of  the  principality  of  Aquitane.  That  prince  promised 
his  assistance  to  the  dethroned  monarch,  and  recalled  the 

*  About  a  million  and  a  half  sterling  of  our  present  money. 


EDWARD  III.  107 

companions  from  the  service  of  Henry  of  Transtamare, 
whom  they  had  placed  on  the  throne  of  Castile.  Henry 
encountered  the  English  prince  at  Najara,  and  was  defeat- 
ed with  the  loss  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  men.  Pe- 
ter was  restored  to  the  throne;  but  the  ungrateful  tyrant 
refused  the  stipulated  pay  to  the  English  forces ;  and  Ed- 
ward returned  to  Guienne,  with  a  diminished  army,  and 
his  constitution  fatally  impaired  by  the  climate.  The 
barbarities  exercised  by  Peter  over  his  subjects,  revived  all 
the  animosity  of  the  Castilians ;  and  the  tyrant  was  again 
dethroned  and  put  to  death. 

Prince  Edward,  by  this  rash  expedition,  had  involved 
himself  in  so  much  debt,  that  he  found  it  necessary,  on 
his  return,  to  impose  on  Aquitaine  a  new  tax  on  hearths. 
The  people,  disgusted  by  this  measure,  carried  their  com- 
plaints to  Charles,  their  ancient  sovereign,  as  to  their  lord 
paramount,  against  these  oppressions  of  the  English  go- 
vernment. By  the  treaty  of  Bertigne,  the  king  of  France 
had  renounced  all  claims  to  the  homage  and  fealty  due 
for  Guienne,  and  the  other  provinces  ceded  to  the  English ; 
but,  on  this  occasion,  Charles  affected  to  consider  himself 
as  superior  lord  of  those  provinces,  and  summoned  Ed- 
ward to  appear  at  his  court  at  Paris,  and  justify  his  con- 
duct to  his  vassals.  The  prince  briefly  replied,  that  he 
would  come  to  Paris,  but  that  it  should  be  at  the  head  of 
sixty  thousand  men. 

Charles  fell  upon  Ponthieu,   while   his   brothers,   the 
dukes  of  Berri  and  Anjou,  invaded  the  southern  provinces. 
In  one  action,  Chandos,  the  constable  of  Guienne,  was 
slain;  and  in   another,  the  Captal  de  Buche  was  taken 
prisoner.      The  state  of  the    prince  of  Wales's  health 
rendered  him  unable  to  mount  on  horseback,  or  exert  his 
usual   activity;  and  his  increasing  infirmities  compelled 
him  to  resign  the  command  of  the  army,  and  return  to  his 
native  country.    Edward,  from  the  necessity  of  his  affairs, 
was  obliged  to  conclude  a  truce,  after  seeing  almost 
all  his  ancient  possessions  in  France  ravished  from  .La 
him,  except  Bordeaux  and  Bayonne,  and  all  his 
conquests,  except  Calais. 

The  decline  of  the  king's  power  corresponded  not 
with  the  preceding  parts  of  it.  Besides  the  loss  of  his 
foreign  dominions,  he  felt  the  decay  of  his  authority  at 
home.     During  the  vigour  of  age,  he  had  been  chiefly 


108  HSTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

occupied  by  war  and  ambition ;  but,  in  his  latter  years, 
he  began  to  indulge  himself  in  pleasure.  After  a  lingering 
illness,  the  prince  of  Wales  died,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  leaving  a  character  illustrious  for  every  eminent 
virtue,  and  unstained  by  any  blemish.  His  valour  and 
military  talents  formed  the  smallest  part  of  his  merit ;  his 
generosity,  humanity,  affability,  and  moderation,  gained 
him  the  affections  of  all  men;  and  he  was  qualified  to 
throw  a  lustre  not  only  on  the  rude  age  in  which  he  lived, 
but  on  the  most  shining  period  either  of  ancient  or  modern 
history.  The  king  survived  about  a  year  this  melancholy 
incident :  he  expired  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and 
the  fifty-first  of  his  reign ;  and  the  people  were  then  sen- 
sible, though  too  late,  of  the  irreparable  loss  which  they 
had  sustained. 

The  English  are  apt  to  consider  with  peculiar  fondness 
the  history  of  Edward  the  Third,  and  to  esteem  his  reign, 
as  it  was  one  of  the  longest,*  the  most  glorious  also  in  the 
annals  of  their  nation.  The  ascendancy  which  they  then 
began  to  acquire  over  France,  their  rival  and  natural  ene- 
my, makes  them  cast  their  eyes  on  this  period  with  great 
complacency,  and  sanctifies  every  measure  which  Edward 
embraced  for  that  end.  But  the  domestic  government  of 
this  prince  is  really  more  admirable  than  his  foreign 
victories;  and  England  enjoyed  by  the  prudence  and 
▼igour  of  his  government,  a  longer  interval  of  domestic 
peace  and  tranquility  than  she  had  been  blest  with  in  any 
former  period,  or  than  she  experienced  for  many  ages 
after.  He  gained  the  affections  of  the  great,  yet  curbed 
their  licentiousness:  his  affable  and  obliging  behaviour, 
his  munificence  and  generosity,  induced  them  to  submit 
wkh  pleasure  to  his  dominion;  and  his  valour  and  con- 
duct rendered  them  successful  in  most  of  their  enterprises. 
His  foreign  wars  were  neither  founded  in  justice,  nor 
directed  to  any  salutary  purpose;  but  the  glory  of  a 
conqueror  is  so  dazzling  to  the  vulgar,  the  animosity  of 
nations  is  so  violent,  that  the  fruitless  desolation  of  so 
fine  a  part  of  Europe  as  France,  is  totally  disregarded  by 
us,  and  is  never  considered  as  a  blemish  in  the  character 
or  conduct  of  this  prince. 


*  It  is  the  longest  reign  in  English  history,  excepting  that  of 
George  the  Third. 


SICHARD   II.  109 

Edward  had  a  numerous  posterity  by  his  queen,  Philip- 
pa  of  Hainault.  His  eldest  son  was  the  heroic  Edward, 
usually  denominated  the  Black  Prince,  from  the  colour  of 
his  armour.  This  prince  espoused  his  cousin  Joan,  com- 
monly called  the  "  Fair  Maid  of  Rent,"  daughter  and  heir 
of  his  uncle,  the  earl  of  Kent,  who  was  beheaded  in  the 
beginning  of  this  reign.  By  her,  the  prince  of  Wales  had 
a  son,  Richard,  who  succeeded  his  grandfather. 

The  second  son  of  king  Edward  was  Lionel,  duke  of 
Clarence,  who,  dying  while  still  young,  left  only  one 
daughter,  married  to  Edward  Mortimer,  earl  of  Marche. 
Of  all  the  family,  he  resembled  most  his  father  and  elder 
brother  in  his  noble  qualities. 

Edward's  third  son  was  John  of  Gaunt,  so  called  from 
the  place  of  his  birth :  he  was  created  duke  of  Lancaster ; 
and  from  him  sprang  that  branch  which  afterwards  pos- 
sessed the  crown.  The  fourth  son  of  this  royal  family 
was  Edmund,  created  duke  of  York ;  and  the  fifth  was 
Thomas,  who  received  the  title  of  duke  of  Gloucester. 
By  his  queen,  Edward  had  also  four  daughters,  Isabella, 
Joan,  Mary,  and  Margaret,  all  of  whom  arrived  at  years 
of  maturity,  and  married. 

During  the  reign  of  Edward,  the  parliament  rose  to 
greater  consideration  than  it  had  experienced  in  any  for- 
mer time;  and  even  the  house  of  commons,  which,  during 
turbulent  and  factious  periods,  was  naturally  depressed  by 
the  greater  power  of  the  crown  and  barons,  began  to  as- 
sume its  rank  in  the  constitution. 

One  of  the  most  popular  laws  enacted  by  any  prince, 
was  the  statute  which  passed  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of 
king  Edward's  reign,  and  which  limited  the  cases  of  high 
treason  to  three  principal  heads :  conspiring  the  death  of  the 
king,  levying  war  against  him,  and  adhering  to  his  enemies. 


CHAP.  VII. 

The  reigns  of  Richard  II.,  Henry  IV.,  and  Henri/  V. 
Richard  II.,  the  son  of  Edward  the  Black  Prince,  was 
only    eleven    years  of  age  when  his  grandfather 
died  ;  and  as  the  late  king  had  taken  no  care  to  1077 
establish  a  plan  of  government  during  the  mino- 
rity of  his  grandson,  it  behooved  the  parliament  to  supply 
the  defect.     On  this  occasion,  the  commons  took  the  lead ; 
10 


110  HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

and  at  their  requisition,  the  house  of  lords  appointed  a 
couneil  of  nine,  to  whom  they  gave  authority  for  a  year  to 
direct  the  public  business,  and  to  inspect  the  education  of 
the  young  prince.  The  government  was  conducted  en- 
tirely in  the  king's  name ;  no  regency  was  expressly  ap- 
pointed ;  and  the  whole  system  was  for  some  years  kept 
together  by  the  secret  authority  of  the  king's  uncles,  espe- 
cially of  the  duke  of  Lancaster. 

Edward  had  left  his  grandson  involved  in  many  dange- 
rous wars.  The  pretensions  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster  to 
the  crown  of  Castile  made  that  kingdom  persevere  in  hos- 
tilities against  England.  Scotland  maintained  such  close 
connections  with  France,  that  war  with  one  crown  almost 
inevitably  produced  hostilities  with  the  other.  Charles 
the  Fifth,  indeed,  was  dead,  and  his  son  Charles  the  Sixth 
was  a  minor.  The  duke  of  Lancaster  conducted  an  army 
into  Brittany  ;  and  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  with  only  two 
thousand  cavalry,  and  eight  thousand  infantry,  penetrated 
into  the  heart  of  Trance ;  but,  though  the  French  were 
overawed  by  the  former  successes  of  the  English,  these 
enterprises  proved  in  the  issue  unsuccessful. 

The  expenses  of  these  armaments  greatly  exhausted  the 
English  treasury ;  and  the  parliament  imposed  a  tax  of 
three  groats  on  every  person  above  fifteen  years  of  age. 
This  impost  produced  a  most  serious  revolt.  A  spirit  of 
independence  had  been  excited  among  the  people,  who 
had  this  distich  frequently  in  their  mouths : 
"  When  Adam  delv'd  and  Eve  span, 
"  Where  was  then  the  gentleman  ?'* 

At  this  time  the  tax-gatherers  demanded  of  a  black- 
smith of  Essex,  payment  for  his  daughter,  whom  he  as- 
serted to  be  under  the  age  assigned  by  the  statute.  One 
of  the  collectors  offered  to  produce  a  very  indecent  proof 
to  the  contrary,  and  laid  hold  of  the  maid  ;  which  the  fa- 
ther resenting,  immediately  knocked  out  the  ruffian's 
brains  with  his  hammer.  The  spectators  applauded  the 
action,  and  exclaimed  that  it  was  time  to  take  vengeance 
on  their  tyrants,  and  to  vindicate  their  liberty.  The  peo- 
ple flew  to  arms  ;  and  the  sedition  spread  from  the  county 
of  Essex  into  that  of  Kent,  of  Hertford,  Surry,  Sussex, 
Suffolk,  Norfolk,  Cambridge,  and  Lincoln.  The  leaders, 
assuming  the  feigned  names  of  Wat  Tyler,  Jack  Straw, 
Hob  Carter,  and  Tom  Miller,  committed  the  most  outra- 


RICHARD  II.  Ill 

geous  violence  on  the  gentry  and  nobility  that  had  the 
misfortune  to  fall  into  their  hands.  The  mutinous  popu- 
lace, amounting  to  one  hundred  thousand  men,  assembled 
on  Blackheath,  under  their  leaders,  Tyler  and  Straw, 
broke  into  the  city,  and  required  of  the  king  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  freedom  of  commerce  in  market-towns  without 
toll  or  impost,  and  a  fixed  rent  of  lands,  instead  of  the 
services  of  villanage. 

These  requisitions  were  complied  with  ;  and  charter^  to 
that  purpose  were  granted  to  them.  A  party  of  the  insur- 
gents, however,  broke  into  the  tower,  murdered  several 
persons  of  distinction,  and  continued  their  ravages  in  the 
city.  The  king,  passing  along  Smithfield,  very  slenderly 
guarded,  met  with  Wat  Tyler,  at  the  head  of  the  mob,  and 
entered  into  a  conference  with  him.  Tyler  having  order- 
ed his  companions  to  retire  till  he  should  give  them  a  sig- 
nal, when  they  were  to  murder  all  the  company,  except 
the  king  himself,  whom  they  were  to  detain  prisoner,  fear- 
lessly came  into  the  midst  of  the  royal  retinue.  He  there 
behaved  himself  in  such  a  manner,  that  Walworth,  the 
mayor  of  London,  unable  to  bear  his  insolence,  drew  his 
sword,  and  struck  him  to  the  ground,  where  he  was  in- 
stantly despatched  by  others  of  the  king's  attendants. 
The  mutineers,  seeing  their  leader  fall,  prepared  them- 
selves for  revenge ;  and  this  whole  company,  with  the 
king  himself,  had  undoubtedly  perished  on  the  spot,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  extraordinary  presence  of  mind  which 
Richard  displayed  on  the  occasion.  Ordering  his  compa- 
ny to  stop,  he  advanced  alone  against  the  enraged  multi- 
tude ;  and  accosting  them  with  an  affable  and  intrepid 
countenance,  he  asked  them,  "  what  is  the  meaning  of 
this  disorder,  my  good  people  ?  Are  ye  angry  that  ye  have 
lost  your  leader  1  I  am  your  king :  I  will  be  your  leader  ?" 
The  populace,  overawed  by  his  presence,  implicitly  fol- 
lowed him :  he  led  them  into  the  fields  to  prevent  any 
disorder  which  might  have  arisen  by  their  continuing  in 
the  city,  and  peaceably  dismissed  them  with  the  same 
charter  which  had  been  granted  to  their  fellows.  Soon 
after,  the  nobility  and  gentry,  hearing  of  the  king's  danger, 
in  which  they  were  all  involved,  flocked  to  London  with 
their  adherents  and  retainers  ;  and  Richard  took  the  field 
at  the  head  of  an  army  forty  thousand  strong.  The  rebels 
were  obliged  to  submit ;  the  charters  of  enfranchisement 


112  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  pardon  were  revoked  by  parliament ;  and  several  of 
the  ringleaders  were  severely  punished. 

The  subjection  in  which  Richard  was  held  by  his  un- 
cles, particularly  by  4he  duke  of  Gloucester,  a  prince  of 
genius  and  ambition,  was  extremely  disagreeable  to  his 
disposition ;  and  he  soon  attempted  to  shake  off  the  yoke. 
Gloucester  and  his  associates,  however,  framed  a  commis- 
sion which  was  ratified  by  parliament,  and  by  which  the 
sovereign  power  was  transferred  to  a  council  of  fourteen 
persons  for  a  twelve  month.  The  king,  who  had  now 
reached  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  age,  was  in  reality 
dethroned ;  and  though  the  term  of  the  commission  was 
limitedj  it  was  easy  to  perceive  that  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  party  to  render  it  perpetual.  However,  in  less  than  a 
twelve  month,  Richard,  who  was  in  bis  twenty- third  year, 
declared  in  council,  that,  as  he  had  now  attained 
I  ooq  the  full  age  which  entitled  him  to  govern  the  king- 
dom by  his  own  authority,  he  was  resolved  to  exer- 
cise his  right  of  sovereignty.  By  what  means  the  king 
regained  his  authority  is  unknown ;  but  he  exercised  it 
with  moderation,  and  appeared  reconciled  to  his  uncles. 

However,  the  personal  conduct  of  Richard  brought  him 
into  contempt,  even  whilst  his  government  seemed,  in  a 
great  measure,  unexceptionable.  Indolent,  profuse,  and 
addicted  to  low  pleasures,  he  spent  his  time  in  feasting, 
and  dissipated  in  idle  show,  or  in  bounties  to  worthless 
favourites,  the  revenue  which  should  have  been  employed 
in  enterprises  directed  to  public  honour  and  advantage. 
He  forgot  his  rank,  and  admitted  all  men  to  his  familia- 
rity. The  little  regard  which  the  people  felt  for  his  per- 
son, disposed  them  to  murmur  against  his  government, 
and  to  receive  with  readiness  every  complaint  suggested  to 
them  by  the  discontented  or  ambitious  nobles. 

Gloucester  soon  perceived  the  advantages  afforded  him 
by  the  king's  dissolute  conduct ;  and  he  determined  to 
cultivate  the  favour  of  the  nation.     He  inveighed  with  m- 
decent  boldness  against  every  measure  pursued  by 
joq~  the  king,  and  particularly  against  the  truce  with 
France.     His  imprudence  revived  the  resentment 
which  his  former  violence  had  kindled ;  the  precipitate 
temper  of  Richard  admitted  of  no  deliberation ;  and  he 
ordered  Gloucester  to  be  unexpectedly  arrested,  and  car- 
ried over  to  Calais,  where  alone,  by  reason  of  his  nume- 


RICHARD  II.  113 

rous  partisans,  he  could  safely  be  detained  in  custody.  In 
a  parliament  which  was  immediately  summoned,  an  accu- 
sation was  presented  against  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  and 
the  earls  of  Arundel  and  Warwick,  who  had  appeared 
against  their  sovereign,  in  a  hostile  manner,  at  Haringay 
Park.  The  earl  of  Arundel  was  executed,  and  the  earl  of 
Warwick  banished,  though  the  crime  for  which  they  were 
condemned  had  been  obliterated  by  time,  and  by  repeated 
pardons.  A  warrant  was  issued  to  the  earl  mareschal, 
governor  of  Calais,  to  bring  over  the  duke  of  Gloucester, 
in  order  to  his  trial ;  but  the  governor  returned  for  answer, 
that  the  duke  had  died  suddenly  of  an  apoplexy ;  though 
it  afterwards  appeared,  that  he  had  been  suffocated  by  the 
order  of  Richard. 

After  the  destruction  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester  and  the 
heads  of  that  party,  a  misunderstanding  arose  among  the 
noblemen  who  had  joined  in  the  prosecution.  The  duke 
of  Hereford,  son  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster,  accused  the 
duke  of  Norfolk  of  having  privately  spoken  many  slande- 
rous words  of  the  king.  Norfolk  denied  the  charge,  and 
offered  to  prove  his  own  innocence  by  duel.  The  chal- 
lenge was  accepted ;  but  when  the  two  champions  appear- 
ed in  the  field,  the  king  interposed,  and  ordered  both  the 
combatants  to  quit  the  kingdom ;  assigning  one  country 
for  the  place  of  Norfolk's  exile,  which  he  declared  per- 
petual, and  another  for  that  of  Hereford,  which  he  limited 
to  ten  years.  i 

Hereford  conducted  himself  with  so  much  submission, 
that  the  king  shortened  the  term  of  his  exile  four  years  ; 
and  he  also  granted  him  letters  patent,  by  which  he  was 
empowered,  in  case  any  inheritance  should  in  the  interval 
accrue  to  him,  to  enter  immediately  into  possession,  and 
to  postpone  the  doing  of  homage  till  his  return.  Howe- 
ver, the  king's  jealousy  was  awakened  by  being  informed 
that  Hereford  had  entered  into  a  treaty  of  marriage  with 
the  daughter  of  the  duke  of  Berry,  uncle  to  the  French 
king ;  and  on  the  death  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster,  which 
happened  soon  after,  Richard  revoked  his  letters  patent, 
and  seized  the  estate  of  Lancaster.  Henry,  the  new  duke 
of  Lancaster,  had  acquired  by  his  conduct  and  abilities 
the  esteem  of  the  public  ;  and  he  had  joined  to  his  other 
praises  those  of  piety  and  valour.  His  misfortunes  were 
lamented ;  the  injustice  which  he  had  suffered  was  com- 
10* 


114  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND* 

plained  of;  and  all  men  turned  their  eyes  towards  him,  as 
the  only  person  that  could  retrieve  the  lost  honour  of  the 
nation,  or  redress  the  supposed  abuses  of  the  government. 
While  such  were  the  dispositions  of  the  people,  Richard 
had  the  imprudence  to  embark  for  Ireland,  in  order  to  re- 
venge the  death  of  his  cousin,  Roger,  earl  of  Marche,  the 
presumptive  heir  of  the  crown,  who  had  lately  been  slain 
in  a  skirmish  with  the  natives ;  and  he  thereby  left  the 
kingdom  of  England  open  to  the  attempts  of  his  provoked 
and  ambitious  enemy.  Henry,  embarking  at  Nantz  with 
a  retinue  of  sixty  persons,  among  whom  were  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  the  young  earl  of  Arundel, 
nephew  to  that  prelate,  landed  at  Ravenspur  in  Yorkshire, 
and  was  immediately  joined  by  the  earls  of  Northumber- 
land and  Westmoreland,  two  of  the  most  potent  barons  in 
England.  Every  place  was  in  commotion  :  the  malcon- 
tents in  all  quarters  flew  to  arms  ;  and  Henry's  army,  in- 
creasing on  every  day's  march,  soon  amounted  to  the 
number  of  sixty  thousand  men.  This  army  was  farther 
increased  by  the  accession  of  that  assembled  by  the  duke 
of  York,  who  had  been  left  guardian  of  the  realm ;  and 
the  duke  of  Lancaster,  thus  reinforced,  was  now  entirely 
master  of  the  kingdom. 

The  king,  receiving  information  of  this  invasion  and 
insurrection,  hastened  over  from  Ireland,  and  landed  in 
Milford  Haven  with  a  body  of  twenty  thousand  men  ;  but 
even  this  army,  so  much  inferior  to  the  enemy,  gradually 
deserted  him,  till  he  found  that  he  had  not  above  six  thou- 
sand men  who  followed  his  standard.  Sensible  of  his 
danger,  he  privately  fled  to  the  isle  of  Anglesea,  where  the 
earl  of  Northumberland,  by  treachery  and  false  oaths, 
made  himself  master  of  the  king's  person,  and  carried  him 
to  his  enemy  at  Flint  castle.  Richard  was  conducted  to 
London  by  the  duke  of  Lancaster,  who  was  there  received 
by  the  acclamations  of  the  mutinous  populace.  The  duke 
first  extorted  a  resignation  from  Richard ;  but  as  he  knew 
the  result  of  this  deed  would  appear  the  result  of  force,  he 
also  procured  him  to  be  deposed  in  parliament  for  his  pre- 
tended tyranny  and  misconduct.  The  throne  being  now 
declared  vacant,  the  duke  of  Lancaster  stepped  forth,  and 
having  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  pronounced  these  words, 
which  we  shall  give  in  the  original  idiom,  because  of  their 
singularity :  "  in  the  name  of  the  Fadher,  Son,  and  Holy 


HENRY  IV.  115 

Ghost,  I  Henry  of  Lancaster  challenge  this  rewme  of 
Ynglande,  and  the  croun,  with  all  the  membres,  and  the 
appurtenances :  als  I  that  am  descendit  by  right  line  of 
the  blode  coming  fro  the  gude  king  Henry  therde,  and 
throge  that  right  that  God  of  his  grace  hath  sent  me,  with 
helpe  of  kyn,  and  of  my  frendes,  to  recover  it ;  the  which 
rewme  was  in  poynt  to  be  ondoue  by  default  of  gover-  / 
nance,  and  ondoying  of  the  gude  laws."  '  ^ 

The  earl  of  Northumberland  made  a  motion  in  the/ 
house  of  peers  with  regard  to  .the  unhappy  prince  whom 
they  had  deposed.  He  asked  them  what  advice  they 
would  give  the  king  for  the  future  treatment  of  him,  since 
Henry  was  resolved  to  spare  his  life.  They  unanimously 
replied,  that  he  should  be  imprisoned  under  a  secure  guard, 
in  some  secreHjplace,  and  should  be  deprived  of  all  com- 
merce with  his  friends  and  partisans.  It  was  easy  to  fore- 
see, that  he  would  not  long  remain  alive  in  the  hands  of 
his  barbarous  and  sanguinary  enemies.  Historians  differ 
with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  he  was  murdered. 
It  was  long  the  prevailing  opinion,  that  Sir  Piers  Exton, 
and  others  of  his  guards,  fell  upon  him  in  the  castle  of 
Pomfret,  where  he  was  confined,  and  despatched  him 
with  their  halberts.  But  it  is  more  probable,  that  he  was 
starved  to  death  in  prison,  since  his  body  was  exposed  in 
public,  and  no  marks  of  violence  were  observed  upon  it. 
He  died  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
twenty-third  of  his  reign  ;  and  left  no  posterity,  either  le- 
gitimate or  illegitimate. 

Richard  appears  to  have  been  incapacitated  for  govern- 
ment, less  for  want  of  natural  parts,  than  of  solid  judg- 
ment and  good  education.     He  was  violent  in  his  temper ; 
profuse  in  his  expense ;  fond  of  idle  show  and  magnifi- 
cence ;  devoted  to  favourites ;  and  addicted  to  pleasure. 
If  he  had  possessed  the  talents  of  gaining,  or  of  overawing 
his  great  barons,  he  might  have  escaped  all  the  misfor- 
tunes of  his  reign  ;  but  when  the  nobles  were  tempted,  by 
his  want  of  prudence  or  of  vigour,  to  resist  his  authority, 
he  was  naturally  led  to  seek  an  opportunity  of  retaliation. 
-Henry  the  Fourth,  in  his  very  first  parliament,  had  rea- 
son to  see  the  danger  attending  that  station  which 
he  had  assumed,  and  the  obstacles  which  he  would  logo 
meet  with  in  governing  an  unruly  aristocracy,  al» 
ways  divided  by  faction,  and  at  present  inflamed  with  the 


116  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

resentments  consequent  on  such  recent  convulsions.  The 
peers,  on  their  assembling,  broke  out  into  violent  animosi- 
ties against  each  other ;  forty  gauntlets,  the  pledges  ot 
furious  battle,  were  thrown  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  by 
noblemen  who  gave  mutual  challenges  ;  and  liar  and  trai- 
tor resounded  'from  all  quarters.  The  king  had  so  much 
authority  with  these  doughty  champions,  as  to  prevent  all 
the  combats  which  they  threatened  ;  but  he  was  not  able 
to  bring  them  to  a  proper  composure,  or  to  an  amicable 
disposition  towards  each  other. 

The  utmost  prudence  of  Henry  could  not  shield  him 
from  those  numerous  inquietudes  which  assailed  him  from 
every  quarter.  The  connection  of  Richard  with  the  royal 
family  of  France,  made  that  court  exert  its  activity  to  re-| 
cover  his  authority,  or  revenge  his  death ;  but  the  confu- 
sions which  the  French  experienced  at  home,  obliged  them 
to  accommodate  matters,  and  to  conclude  a  truce  between 
the  two  kingdoms.        *\^f 

The  revolution  in  England  proved  also  the  occasion  of 
an  insurrection  in  Wales.  Owen  Glendour,  descended 
from  the  ancient  princes  of  that  country,  had  become  ob- 
noxious on  account  of  his  attachment  to  Richard,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  Reginald,  lord  Grey  of  Ruthyn,  who 
was  connected  with  the  new  king,  had  seized  his  estate. 
Glendour  recovered  possession  by  the  sword  ;  the  Welsh 
armed  on  his  side ;  and  a  long  and  troublesome  war  was 
kindled.  As  Glendour  committed  devastations  on  the 
estate  of  the  earl  of  Marche,  Sir  Edward  Mortimer,  uncle 
to  that  nobleman,  led  out  the  retainers  of  the  family,  and 
gave  battle  to  the  Welsh  chieftain.  Mortimer's  troops 
were  routed  ;  and  the  earl  himself,  still  in  his  minority, 
was  made  prisoner ;  and  Henry,  though  he  owed  his  crown 
to  the  Piercies,  to  whom  the  young  nobleman  was  nearly 
related,  refused  to  the  earl  of  Northumberland  permission 
to  treat  for  his  ransom  with  Glendour. 

The  critical  situation  of  Henry  had  induced  the  Scots j 
to  make  incursions  into  England ;  and  Henry,  desirous  of ! 
taking  revenge,  conducted  his  followers  to  Edinburgh : 
but  finding  the  Scots  would  neither  submit  nor  give  him 
battle,  he  returned  in  three  weeks,  and  disbanded  his  ar- 
my. In  the  following  year,  Archibald,  earl  of  Douglas,  at 
the  hea,d  of  twelve  thousand  men,  and  attended  by  many 
of  the  principal  nobility  of  Scotland,  made  an  irruption 


HENRY  IV.  117 

into  England,  and  committed  devastations  on  the  northern 
counties.  On  his  return  home,  he  was  overtaken,  by  the 
Piercies  at  Homeldon,  on  the  borders  of  England,  and  a 
fierce  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  Scots  were  totally  routed. 
Douglas  himself  was  taken  prisoner,  as  was  Mordack,  earl 
of  Fife,  son  of  the  duke  of  Albany,  with  many  others  of 
the  gentry  and  nobility.  ^ 

The  obligations  which  Henry  had  owed  to  Northumber- 
land were  of  a  kind  the  most  likely  to  produce  ingratitude 
on  one  side  and  discontent  on  the  other.  The  sovereign 
naturally  became  jealous  of  that  power  which  had  advanced 
him  to  the  throne ;  and  the  subject  was  not  easily  satisfied 
in  the  returns  which  he  thought  so  great  a  favour  had  me- 
rited. Though  Henry,  on  his  accession,  had  bestowed  the 
office  of  constable  on  Northumberland  for  life,  and  con- 
ferred other  gifts  on  that  family,  yet  these  favours  were 
considered  as  their  due :  the  refusal  of  any  other  request 
was  deemed  an  injury.  The  impatient  spirit  of  Harry 
Pierc^,  and  the  factious  disposition  of  the  earl  of  Worces- 
ter, younger  brother  of  Northumberland,  inflamed  the  dis- 
contents of  that  nobleman;  and  the  precarious  title  of 
Henry  tempted  him  to  seek  revenge,  by  overturning  that 
throne  which  he  had  at  first  established.  He  entered  into 
a  correspondence  with  Glendour ;  he  gave  liberty  to  the 
earl  of  Douglas,  and  made  an  alliance  with  that  martial 
chief;  he  roused  up  all  his  partisans  to  arms ;  and  such 
unlimited  authority  at  that  time  belonged  to  the  great  fami- 
lies, that  the  same  men,  whom  a  few  years  before  he  had 
conducted  against  Richard,  now  followed  his  standard  in 
opposition  to  Henry.  When  hostilities  were  ready  to  com- 
mence, Northumberland  was  seized  with  a  sudden  illness 
at  Berwick ;  and  young  Piercy,  taking  the  command  of 
the  troops,  marched  towards  Shrewsbury,  in  order  to  join 
his  forces  with  those  of  Glendour.  The  king  had  fortu- 
nately a  small  army  on  foot.  He  approached  Piercy  near 
Shrewsbury,  before  that  nobleman  was  joined  by  Glen- 
dour ;  and  the  policy  of  one  leader,  and  impatience  of  the 
other,  made  them  hasten  to  a  general  engagement. 

We  shall  scarcely  find  any  battle  in  those   ages 
where  the  shock  was  more  terrible  and  more  con-  ^\^A 
stant.     Henry  exposed  his  person  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight;  his  gallant  son,  whose  military  achievements 
were  afterwards  so  renowned,  and  who  here  performed  his 


118  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

noviciate  in  arms,  signalized  himself  in  the  highest  degree ; 
and  even  a  wound  which  he  received  in  the  face  with  an 
arrow  could  not  oblige  him  to  quit  the  field.  Piercy  sup- 
ported that  fame  which  he  had  acquired  in  many  a  bloody 
combat;  and  Douglas,  his  ancient  enemy,  and  now  his 
friend,  still  appeared  his  rival,  amidst  the  horror  and  con- 
fusion of  the  day.  While  the  armies  were  contending  in 
this  furious  manner,  the  death  of  Piercy,  by  an  unknown 
hand,  decided  the  victory,  and  the  royalists  prevailed. 
There  are  said  to  have  fallen  that  day,  on  both  sides,  near 
two  thousand  three  hundred  gentlemen ;  but  the  persons 
of  greatest  distinction  that  were  killed,  belonged  to  the 
king's  party.  About  six  thousand  private  men  perished, 
of  whom  two  thirds  were  of  Pierey's  army.  The  earls  of 
Worcester  and  Douglas  were  taken  prisoners :  the  former 
was  beheaded  at  Shrewsbury  ;  the  latter  was  treated  with 
the  courtesy  due  to  his  rank  and  valour. 

The  earl  of  Northumberland,  having  recovered  from  his 
sickness,  had  levied  a  fresh  army,  and  was  on  his  march  to 
join  his  son;  but  being  opposed  by  the  earl  of  Westmore- 
land, and  hearing  of  the  defeat  at  Shrewsbury,  he  dismiss- 
ed his  forces,  and  came  with  a  small  retinue  to  the  king  at 
York.  He  pretended  that  his  sole  object  in  arming  was 
to  mediate  between  the  parties :  Henry  thought  proper  to 
accept  of  the  apology,  and  even  granted  him  a  pardon  for 
his  offence.  Most  of  the  other  insurgents  were  treated  with 
equal  lenity.  Northumberland,  however,  having  formed  a 
new  conspiracy  against  the  king,  was  killed  in  an  engage- 
ment at  Bramham,  in  Yorkshire.  This  success,  joined 
to  the  death  of  Glendour,  which  happened  soon  after,  freed 
Henry  from  all  his  domestic  enemies:  and  this  prince,  who 
had  mounted  the  throne  by  such  unjustifiable  means  and 
held  it  by  such  an  acceptable  title,  by  his  valour,  pru- 
dence, and  address,  had  obtained  a  great  ascendancy  over 
his  subjects. 

Though  Henry  entertained  a  well-grounded  jealousy  of 
the  family  of  Mortimer,  yet  he  allowed  not  their  name  to 
be  once  mentioned  in  parliament ;  and  as  none  of  the  re- 
bels had  ventured  to  declare  the  earl  of  Marche  king,  he 
never  attempted  to  procure  an  express  declaration  against 
the  claim  of  that  nobleman.  However,  with  a  design  of 
weakening  the  pretensions  of  the  earl  of  Marche,  he  pro- 
cured a  settlement  of  the  crown  on  himself  and  his  heirs 


HENRY   IV.  119 

male ;  but  the  long  contests  with  France  had  displayed 
the  injustice  of  the  Salic  law  ;  and  the  parliament,  ap- 
prehensive that  they  had  destroyed  the  foundations  of  the 
English  government,  applied  with  such  earnestness  for  a 
new  settlement  of  the  crown,  that  Henry  yielded  to  their 
request,  and  agreed  to  the  succession  of  the  princes  of 
his  family. 

But  though  the  commons,  during  this  reign,  showed  a 
laudable  zeal  for  liberty  in  their  transactions  with  the 
crown,  their  efforts  against  the  church  were  still  more  ex- 
traordinary. In  the  sixth  of  Henry,  being  required  to 
grant  supplies,  they  proposed  in  plain  terms  to  the  king, 
that  he  should  seize  all  the  temporalities  of  the  church,  and 
employ  them  as  a  perpetual  fund  to  serve  the  exigencies 
of  the  state.  The  king,  however,  discouraged  the  appli- 
cation of  the  commons ;  and  the  lords  rejected  the  bill 
which  the  lower  house  had  framed  for  stripping  the  church 
of  her  revenues.  The  commons  were  not  discouraged  by 
this  repulse:  in  the  eleventh  of  the  king,  they  returned 
to  the  charge  with  more  zeal  than  before:  they  made  a 
calculation  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  revenues,  which,  by 
their  account,  amounted  to  four  hundred  and  eighty-five 
thousand  marks  a  year,  and  contained  eighteen  thousand 
ploughs  of  land.  They  proposed  to  divide  this  property 
among  fifteen  new  earls,  fifteen  hundred  knights,  six  thou- 
sand esquires,  and  one  hundred  hospitals ;  besides  twen- 
ty thousand  pounds  a  year,  which  the  king  might  take 
for  his  own  use ;.  and  they  insisted,  that  the  clerical  func- 
tions would  be  better  performed  than  at  present,  by  fifteen 
thousand  parish  priests,  paid  after  the  rate  of  seven  marks 
a-piece  of  yearly  stipend.  This  application  was  accom- 
panied with  an  address  for  mitigating  the  statutes  enacted 
against  the  Lollards,  which  shows  from  what  source  thi' 
address  came.  To  this  unjust  and  chimerical  proposal, 
the  king  gave  the  commons  a  severe  reply. 

The  king  was  so  much  employed  in  defending  his  crown, 
that  he  had  little  leisure  to  look  abroad.      His  health  de- 
clined some  months  before  his  death ;  and  though  he  was 
in  the  flower  of  his  age,  his  end  was  visibly  approaching. 
He  expired  at  Westminster,  (20th  March,)  in  the 
forty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirteenth' of  t\?^ 
his  reign.     The  prudence,  vigilance,  and  foresight 
af  Henry  IV.  in  maintaining  his  power,  were  admirable; 


,120  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

his  command  of  temper  was  remarkable;  his  courage, 
both  military  and  political,  without  blemish ;  and  he  pos- 
sessed many  qualities  which  fitted  him  for  his  high  station, 
and  which  rendered  his  usurpation,  though  pernicious  in 
after-times,  rather  salutary,  during  his  own  reign,  to  the 
English  nation.  He  left  four  sons,  Henry  his  successor, 
Thomas  duke  of  Clarence,  John  duke  of  Bedford,  and 
Humphrey  duke  of  Gloucester;  and  two  daughters, 
Blanche  and  Philippa,  the  former  married  to  the  duke  of 
Bavaria,  the  latter  to  the  king  of  Denmark. 

The  jealousies  to  which  the  deceased  monarch's  situa- 
tion naturally  exposed  him,  had  so  infected  his  temper, 
that  he  regarded  with  distrust  even  his  eldest  son,  whom, 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  he  had  excluded  from 
public  business.  The  active  spirit  of  young  Henry,  re- 
strained from  its  proper  exercise,  broke  out  into  extrava- 
gancies of  every  kind.  There  remains  a  tradition,  that, 
when  heated  with  liquor  and  jollity,  he  scrupled  not  to 
accompany  his  riotous  associates  in  attacking  and  plun-  j 
dering  the  passengers  in  the  streets  and  highways.  This 
extreme  dissoluteness  was  not  more  agreeable  to  the  father, 
than  would  have  been  his  application  to  business;  and 
Henry  fancied  he  saw,  in  his  son's  behaviour,  the  same 
neglect  of  decency,  which  had  degraded  the  character  of 
Richard.  But  the  nation  regarded  the  young  prince  with 
more  indulgence  :  they  observed  in  him  the  seeds  of  gene- 
rosity, spirit  and  magnanimity ;  and  an  accident  which 
happened,  afforded  occasion  for  favourable  reflections.  A 
riotous  companion  of  the  prince's  had  been  indicted  before 
Gascoigne,  the  chief  justice,  for  some  disorders  ;  and 
Henry  was  not  ashamed  to  appear  at  the  bar  with  the  cri- 
minal, in  order  to  give  him  countenance  and  protection. 
Finding  that  his  presence  did  not  overawe  the  chief 
justice,  he  proceeded  to  insult  that  magistrate  on  his  tri- 
bunal ;  but  Gascoigne,  mindful  of  his  own  character,  and 
the  majesty  of  the  sovereign  and  of  the  laws,  which  he 
sustained,  ordered  the  prince  to  be  carried  to  prison  for 
his  rude  behaviour;  and  the  spectators  were  agreeably 
disappointed  when  they  saw  the  heir  of  the  crown  submit 
peaceably  to  this  sentence,  and  make  reparation  of  his 
error  by  acknowledging  it. 

The  memory  of  this  incident,  and  many  others  of  a 
like  nature,  rendered  the  prospect  of  the  future  reign  no- 


HENRY   V.  121 

wise  disagreeable  to  the  nation ;  and  the  first  steps  taken 
by  the  young  prince,  confirmed  all  those  prepossessions 
entertained  in  his  favour.  He  called  together  his  former 
companions,  acquainted  them  with  his  intended  reforma- 
tion, exhorted  them  to  imitate  his  example,  but  strictly 
inhibited  them,  till  they  had  given  proofs  of  their  sincerity 
in  this  particular,  from  appearing  any  more  in  his  pre- 
sence ;  and  he  thus  dismissed  them  with  liberal  presents. 
The  wise  ministers  of  his  father,  who  had  checked  his 
riots,  were  received  with  all  the  marks  of  favour  and  con- 
fidence ;  and  the  chief  justice  himself,  who  trembled  to 
approach  the  royal  presence,  met  with  praises  instead  of 
reproaches  for  his  past  conduct,  and  was  exhorted  to  per- 
severe in  the  same  rigorous  and  impartial  execution  of  the 
laws.  The  surprise  of  those  who  expected  an  opposite 
behaviour,  augmented  their  satisfaction ;  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  young  king  appeared  brighter  than  if  it  had 
never  been  shaded  by  any  errors. 

At  this  time,  the  Lollards  were  every  day  increasing  in 
the  kingdom.  The  head  of  this  sect  was  sir  John  Old- 
castle,  lord  Cobham,  a  nobleman  who  had  distinguished 
himself  by  his  valour  and  military  talents,  and  had  acqui- 
red the  esteem  both  of  the  late  and  of  the  present  king. 
His  high  character  and  zeal  for  the  new  sect  pointed  him 
out  to  Arundel,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  as  the  proper 
victim  of  ecclesiastical  severity.  The  archbishop  applljd 
to  Henry  for  permission  to  indict  lord  Cobham ;  but  the 
prince,  averse  to  sanguinary  methods  of  conversion,  en- 
deavoured, by  a  conversation  with  Cobham,  to  reconcile 
him  to  the  Catholic  faith.  But  he  found  that  nobleman  firm 
in  his  opinions ;  and  Henry's  principles  of  toleration  could 
carry  him  no  farther.  The  primate  indicted  Cobham,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  suffragans,  condemned  him  to 
the  flames  for  his  erroneous  opinions.  Cobham  escaped 
from  the  tower ;  and  his  daring  spirit,  provoked  by  per- 
secution and  stimulated  by  zeal,  prompted  him  to  attempt 
the  most  criminal  enterprises.  He  appointed  a  general 
rendezvous  of  his  party,  in  order  to  seize  the  person  of  the 
king,  and  put  their  religious  enemies  to  the  sword ;  but 
Henry,  apprised  of  their  intentions,  apprehended  such  of 
the  conspirators  as  appeared,  and  rendered  the  design  in- 
effectual. It  appeared  that  a  few  only  were  in  the  secret 
of  the  conspiracy :  of  these,  some  were  executed ;  and 
■  11 


122  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Cobham  himself,  who  had  fled,  was  not  brought  to  justice 
till  four  years  after,  when  he  was  hanged  as  a  traitor,  and 
his  body  burnt  upon  the  gibbet. 

Charles  the  Sixth,  king  of  France,  after  assuming  the 
reins  of  government,  had  discovered  symptoms  of  genius 
and  spirit ;  but  the  unhappy  prince  being  seized  with  an 
epileptic  disorder,  his  judgment  was  gradually  but  sen- 
sibly impaired;  and  the  administration  of  affairs  was  dis- 
puted between  his  brother,  Lewis,  duke  of  Orleans,  and  his 
cousin-german,  John,  duke  of  Burgundy.  The  latter  pro- 
cured his  rival  to  be  assassinated  in  the  streets  of  Paris. 
The  princes  of  the  blood,  combining  with  the  young  duke 
of  Orleans  and  his  brothers,  with  all  the  violence  of  party 
rage,  made  war  on  the  duke  of  Burgundy ;  and  the  un- 
happy king,  seized  sometimes  by  one  party,  sometimes  by 
the  other,  transferred  alternately  to  each  of  them  the  ap- 
pearance of  legal  authority. 

These  circumstances  concurred  to  favour  an  enterprise 
of  the  English  against  France.  Henry,  therefore,  assem- 
bled a  great  fleet  and  army  at  Southampton ;  and  relying 
on  the  aid  of  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  he  put  to  sea,  and 
landed  near  Harfleur,  with  six  thousand  men  at  arms,  and 
twenty-four  thousand  foot.  He  obliged  that  city  to  capi-  . 
tulate  after  a  gallant  defence.  The  fatigues  of  this  siege, 
and  the  usual  heat  of  the  season,  had  so  wasted  the 
English  army,  that  Henry  could  enter  on  no  other  enter- 
prise; and  as  he  had  dismissed  his  transports,  he  was 
under  the  necessity  of  marching  by  land  to  Calais,  before 
he  could  reach  a  place  of  safety.  By  this  time  a  numerous 
French  army,  of  fourteen  thousand  men  at  arms,  and  forty 
thousand  foot,  was  assembled  in  Normandy,  under  the 
constable  d'Albert.  Henry,  therefore,  offered  to  purchase 
a  safe  retreat  at  the  expense  of  his  new  conquest  of  Har- 
fleur ;  but  his  proposals  being  rejected,  he  marched  slowly 
and  deliberately  to  the  Somme,  which  he  purposed  to  pass 
at  the  same  ford  that  had  proved  so  auspicious  to  his  pre- 
decessor Edward.  The  ford,  however,  was  rendered  im-  , 
passable,  by  the  precaution  of  the  French ;  but  he  was  so  j 
fortunate  as  to  surprise  a  passage  near  St.  Quentin,  over 
which  he  safely  carried  his  force.  After  passing  the  small 
river  of  Ternois  at  Blangi,  he  observed  the  whole  French 
army  drawn  up  in  the  plains  of  Agincourt,  and  so  posted 
that  an  engagement  was  inevitable.     The  enemy  was  four 


HENRY   V.  123 

times  more  numerous  tnan  the  English,  and  was  headed 
by  the  dauphin,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  blood. 

Henry's  situation  was  exactly  similar  to  that  of  Edward 
at  Crecy,  and  of  the  Black  Prince  at  Poictiers.  The  king 
drew  up  his  army  on  a  narrow  ground  between  two  woods, 
which  guarded  his  flank,  and  patiently  awaited  the  attack 
of  the  enemy.  The  French  archers  on  horseback,  and  their 
men  at  arms,  crowded  in  their  ranks,  advanced  against  the 
English  archers,  who  had  fixed  palisadoes  in  their  front  to 
break  the  impression  of  the  enemy,  and  who,  from  behind 
that  defence,  safely  plied  them  with  a  shower  of  arrows 
which  nothing  could  resist.  The  heavy  ground  hindered 
the  force  of  the  French  cavalry ;  the  whole  army  was  a 
scene  of  confusion,  terror,  and  dismay ;  and  the  English 
fell  with  their  battle-axes  upon  the  French,  who,  being 
unable  to  flee  or  defend  themselves,  were  slaughtered 
without  resistance.  Among  the  slain  were  the  constable 
himself,  the  count  of  Nevers,  and  the  duke  of  Brabant, 
both  brothers  to  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  the  count  of  Vau- 
demont,  the  dukes  of  Alenc,oh  and  Barre,  and  the  count 
of  Marie;  and  among  the  prisoners  were  the  dukes  of 
Orleans  and  Bourbon,  the  counts  d'Eu,  Vendome,  and 
Richmont,  and  the  mareschal  of  Bousicaut.  The  killed, 
on  the  side  of  the  French,  are  computed  to  have  amounted 
to  ten  thousand  men ;  and  the  prisoners  to  four- 
teen thousand.  The  person  of  chief  note,  who  fell  iV?^ 
among  the  English,  was  the  duke  of  York  ;  and 
their  whole  loss  is  said  not  to  have  exceeded  forty  men. 

During  the  interruption  of  hostilities  which  followed  this 
engagement,  France  was  exposed  to  all  the  furies  of  civil 
war.  The  count  of  Armagnac,  created  constable  of 
France,  prevailed  on  the  king  to  send  the  queen  to  Tours, 
and  confine  her  under  a  guard  ;  and  her  son,  the  dauphin 
Charles,  was  entirely  governed  by  the  faction  of  Armag- 
nac. In  concert  with  her,  the  duke  of  Burgundy  entered 
France  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  and  at  last  libera- 
ted the  queen,  who  fixed  her  independent  residence  at 
Troyes,  and  openly  declared  against  the  ministers,  who, 
she  asserted,  detained  her  royal  consort  in  captivity.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  partisans  of  Burgundy  raised  a  com- 
motion in  Paris.  Lisle  Adam,  one  of  the  duke's  captains, 
was  received  into  the  city,  and  headed  the  insurrection  ; 
the  person  of  the  king  was  seized ;  the  dauphin  escaped 
with  difficulty;  and  the  count  of  Armagnac,  the  chancellor, 


124  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

and  the  principal  adnerents  of  the  Orleans  party,  were 
inhumanly  put  to  death. 

Henry  the  Fifth  again  landed  in  Normandy,  at  the  head 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men.  Having  subdued  all  the 
lower  Normandy,  he  formed  the  seige  of  Rouen,  of  which, 
at  length,  he  made  himself  master.  The  duke  of  Burgundy 
was  assassinated  by  the  treachery  of  the  dauphin ;  and  his 
son  thought  himself  bound  to  revenge  the  murder  of  his 
father.  A  league  was  concluded  at  Arras  between  Henry 
and  the  young  duke  of  Burgundy,  who  agreed  to  every 
demand  made  by  that  monarch.  By  this  treaty,  which 
was  concluded  at  Troyes,  in  the  names  of  the  kings  of 
France  and  England,  and  the  duke  of  Burgundy, 
it  was  stipulated,  that  Charles,  during  his  life,  ^\^A 
should  enjoy  the  title  and  dignity  of  king  of  Franoe; 
that  Henry  should  be  declared  heir  of  the  monarchy,  and 
immediately  intrusted  with  the  reins  of  government,  and 
that  kingdom  should  pass  to  his  heirs  general ;  that  France 
and  England  should  ever  be  united  under  one  king,  but 
should  still  retain  their  several  usages,  customs,  and  pri- 
vileges ;  and  that  Henry  should  join  his  arms  to  those  of 
king  Charles  and  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  for  the  purpose 
of  subduing  the  adherents  of  Charles  the  dauphin. 

To  push  his  present  advantages,  Henry,  a  few  days  after, 
espoused  the  princess  Catharine,  carried  his  father-in-law 
to  Paris,  and  put  himself  in  possession  of  that  capital. 
He  then  turned  his  arms  with  success  against.the  dauphin, 
who,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  treaty  of  Troyes,  had 
assumed  the  title  of  regent.  That  prince,  chased  beyond 
the  Loire,  almost  entirely  deserted  by  the  northern  pro- 
vinces, and  pursued  into  the  south  by  the  English  and  Bur- 
gundians,  prepared  to  meet  with  fortitude  the  destruction 
which  seemed  inevitable.  To  crown  the  prosperity  of 
Henry,  his  queen  Catharine  was  delivered  of  a  son,  who 
was  called  by  his  father's  name,  and  whose  birth  was  ce- 
lebrated by  equal  rejoicings  in  Paris  and  in  London. 

The  glory  of  Henry,  however,  had  now  reached  its  sum- 
mit. He  was  seized  with  a  fistula,  a  complaint  which  the 
ignorance  of  the  age  rendered  mortal.  Sensible  of  his 
approaching  end,  he  devoted  the  few  remaining  moments 
of  life  to  the  concerns  of  his  kingdom  and  family,  and 
to  the  pious  duties  of  religion.  To  the  duke  of  Bedford, 
his  elder  brother,  he  left  the  regency  of  France;  to  th«» 


HENRY  VI.  125 

tluke  of  Gloucester,  his  younger  brother,  he  committed 
that  of  England ;  and  to  the  earl  of  Warwick  he  entrust- 
ed the  care  of  his  son's  person  and  education.     He 
expired  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  ^vSj 
the  tenth  of  his  reign. 

Henry  the  Fifth  possessed  many  eminent  virtues,  which 
were  unstained  by  any  other  blemish  than  ambition  and 
the  love  of  glory.  His  talents  were  equally  distinguished 
in  the  field  and  the  cabinet ;  and  whilst  we  admire  the 
boldness  of  his  enterprises,  we  cannot  refuse  our  praise  to 
the  prudence  and  valour  by  which  they  were  conducted. 
His  affability  attached  his  friends  to  his  service ;  and  his 
address  and  clemency  vanquished  his  enemies.  His  un- 
ceasing attention  to  the  administration  of  justice,  and  his 
maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  armies,  alleviated  both 
to  France  and  England  the  calamities  inseparable  from 
those  wars  in  which  his  short  and  splendid  reign  was  al- 
most entirely  occupied.  The  exterior  figure  of  this  great 
prince,  as  well  as  his  deportment,  was  engaging.  His 
stature  was  somewhat  above  the  middle  size ;  his  coun- 
tenance beautiful;  his  limbs  genteel  and  slender,  but 
full  of  vigour ;  and  he  excelled  in  all  warlike  and  manly 
exercises.  He  left  by  his  queen,  Catharine  of  France, 
only  one  son,  not  full  nine  months  old ;  whose  misfortunes, 
in  the  course  of  his  life,  surpassed  all  the  glories  and  suc- 
cesses of  his  father. 

Catharine  of  France,  Henry's  widow,  married,  soon  after 
his  death,  a  Welsh  gentleman,  Sir  Owen  Tudor,  said  to  be 
descended  from  the  ancient  princes  of  that  country :  she 
bore  him  two  sons,  Edmund  and  Jasper,  of  whom  the  eldest 
was  created  earl  of  Richmond ;  the  second,  earl  of  Pem- 
broke. The  family  of  Tudor,  first  raised  to  distinction  by 
this  alliance,  mounted  afterwards  the  throne  of  England. 

CHAP.  VIII. 

The  reigns  of  Henry  VI,  Edward  IV.,  and  Edward  V. 
During  the  reign  of  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Lancas- 
ter, the  authority  of  parliament  had  been  more  confirmed, 
and  the  privileges  of  the  people  more  regarded,  than  in 
any  former  period.  Without  attending  to  the  strict  letter 
of  the  deceased  monarch's  recommendation,  the  lords  and 
commons  appointed  the  duke  of  Bedford  protector  or  guar- 

n* 


120  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

dian  of  the  kingdom ;  they  invested  the  duke  of  Gloucester 
with  the  same  dignity  during  the  absence  of  his  elder  bro- 
ther ;  and,  in  order  to  limit  the  power  of  both  these  princes, 
they  appointed  a  council,  without  whose  advice  and  appro- 
bation no  measure  of  importance  could  be  determined. 
The  person  and  education  of  the  infant  prince  were  com- 
mitted to  Henry  Beaufort,  bishop  of  Winchester,  his  great 
uncle,  who,  as  his  family  could  never  have  any  pretensions 
to  the  crown,  might  safely,  they  thought,  be  intrusted  with 
that  important  charge. 

The  conquest  of  France  was  the  first  object  of  the  new 
government ;  and,  on  a  superficial  view  of  the  state  of  af- 
fairs, every  advantage  seemed  to  be  on  the  side  of  the 
English.  Though  Henry  was  an  infant,  the  duke  of  Bed- 
ford was  the  most  accomplished  prince  of  his  age ;  and 
the  whole  power  of  England  was  at  his  command.  He 
was  at  the  head  of  armies  accustomed  to  victory ;  he  was 
seconded  by  the  most  renowned  generals  of  the  age ;  and 
besides  Guienne,  the  ancient  inheritance  of  England,  he  was 
master  of  Paris,  and  of  almost  all  the  northern  provinces. 
But  Charles,  notwithstanding  his  present  inferiority, 
possessed  some  advantages  which  promised  him  success. 
He  was  the  true  and  undoubted  heir  of  the  monarchy  ;  and 
all  Frenchmen,  who  knew  the  interest,  or  desired  the  inde- 
pendence of  their  country,  turned  their  eyes  towards  him 
as  their  sole  resource.  Though  only  in  his  twentieth  year, 
he  was  of  the  most  friendly  and  benign  disposition,  of 
easy  and  familiar  manners,  and  of  a  just,  though  not  ft 
very  vigorous  understanding.  The  love  of  pleasure  often 
seduced  him  into  indolence  ;  but,  amidst  all  his  irregulari- 
ties, the  goodness  of  his  heart  still  shone  forth  ;  and  by 
exerting  at  intervals  his  courage  and  activity,  he  proved 
that  his  remissness  did  not  proceed  from  the  want  of  am- 
bition or  personal  valour. 

The  resentment  of  the  dlWce  of  Burgundy  against  Charles, 
still  continued ;  and  the  duke  of  Bedford,  that  he  might 
corroborate  national  connections  by  private  ties,  concluded 
his  own  marriage  with  the  princess  of  Burgundy,  which 
had  been  stipulated  by  the  treaty  of  Arras. 

But  the  duke  of  Bedford  was  not  so  much  employed  in 
negotiations,  as  to  neglect  the  operations  of  war.  A  con- 
siderable advantage  was  gained  over  the  French,  in  the 
battle  of  Crevant,  by  the  united  forces  of  England  and 


1 


HENRY  VI.  127 

Burgundy.  In  the  mean  time,  the  duke  of  Bedford  was 
engaged  in  the  siege  of  Yvri  in  Normandy ;  and  the  go- 
vernor, finding  his  resources  exhausted,  agreed  to  surren- 
der the  town,  if  not  relieved  by  a  certain  day.  Charles, 
informed  of  these  conditions,  determined  to  make  an  at- 
tempt for  saving  the  place ;  and  collecting  an  army  of 
fourteen  thousand  men,  of  whom  one  half  were  Scots,  he 
entrusted  'it  to  the  earl  of  Buchan,  constable  of  France. 
When  the  constable  arrived  within  a  few  leagues  of  Yvri, 
he  found  that  the  place  had  already  surrendered  ;  but  he 
immediately  invested  Verneuil,  which  he  carried  without 
difficulty.  On  the  approach  of  the  duke  of  Bedford,  Bu- 
chan called  a  council  of  war,  in  order  to  deliberate  on  the 
conduct  necessary  to  be  pursued.  The  wiser  part  of  the 
council  declared  for  a  retreat ;  but  a  vain  point  of  honour 
determined  the  assembly  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  duke 
of  Bedford. 

In  this  action,  the  numbers  of  the  contending  armies 
were  nearly  equal ;  and  the  battle  was  fierce  and  well  dis- 
puted. At  length,  the  duke  of  Bedford,  at  the  head  of  the 
men  at  arms,  broke  the  ranks  of  the  French,  chased  them 
off*  the  field,  and  rendered  the  victory  complete  and  deci- 
sive.    Verneuil  was  surrendered  next  day  by  capitulation. 

The  fortunes  of  Charles  now  appeared  almost  desperate, 
when  an  incident  happened  which  lost  the  English  an  op- 
portunity of  completing  their  conquests.  Jaqueline,  coun- 
tess of  Hainault  and  Holland,  and  heiress  of  these  pro- 
vinces, had  espoused  John,  duke  of  Brabant,  cousin-ger- 
man  to  the  duke  of  Burgundy.  The  marriage  had  been 
dictated  by  motives  of  policy ;  but  the  duke  of  Brabant's 
weakness,  both  of  body  and  mind,  inspired  the  countess 
with  contempt,  which  soon  proceeded  to  antipathy.  Im- 
patient of  effecting  her  purpose,  she  escaped  into  England, 
and  solicited  the  protection  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester. 
The  impetuous  passions  of  that  prTnce,  and  the  prospect  of 
inheriting  her  rich  inheritance,  induced  him  to  offer  him- 
self to  her  as  a  husband ;  and  he  entered  into  a  contract 
of  marriage  with  Jaqueline,  and  immediately  attempted 
to  render  himself  master  of  her  dominions.  The  duke  of 
Burgundy  resented  the  injury  offered  to  the  duke  of  Bra- 
bant, his  near  relation,  and  marched  troops  to  his  support; 
the  quarrel,  which  was  at  first  political,  soon  became  per- 
sonal ;  and  the  protector,  instead  of  improving  the  victory 


128  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

gained  at  Verneuil,  found  himself  obliged  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, that  he  might  try,  by  his  councils  and  authority,  to 
moderate  the  measures  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester. 

The  pope  annulled  Jaqueline's  contract  with  the  duke 
of  Gloucester ;  and  Humphrey,  despairing  of  success,  mar- 
ried another  lady,  who  had  lived  some  time  with  him  as 
his  mistress.  The  duke  of  Brabant  died  ;  and  his  widow, 
before  she  could  recover  possession  of  her  dominions,  was 
obliged  to  declare  the  duke  of  Burgundy  her  heir,  in  case 
she  should  die  without  issue,  and  to  promise  never  to  marry 
without  his  consent.  This  affair,  however,  left  an  unfa- 
vourable impression  on  the  mind  of  Philip,  and  excited  an 
extreme  jealousy  of  the  English.  About  the  same  time, 
the  duke  of  Brittany  withdrew  himself  from  the  alliance 
with  England  ;  his  defection  was  followed  by  that  of  his 
brother,  the  count  of  Richemont ;  and  both  these  princes 
joined  the  standard  of  their  legitimate  sovereign,  Charles 
the  Seventh.  ♦ 

Indignant  at  the  conduct  of  the  duke  of  Brittany,  the 
duke  of  Bedford,  on  his  arrival  in  France,  secretly  assem- 
bled a  considerable  army,  and  suddenly  invading  the  pro- 
vince of  Brittany,  compelled  its  sovereign  to  renounce  his 
alliance  with  France,  and  to  yield  homage  to  Henry  for 
kis  duchy.  Being  thus  freed  from  a  dangerous  enemy, 
the  English  prince  resolved  to  invest  the  city  of 
1428  Orleans,  which  was  so  situated  between  the  pro- 
vinces commanded  by  Henry,  and  those  possessed 
by  Charles,  as  to  afford  an  easy  entrance  into  either.  He 
committed  the  conduct  of  the  enterprise  to  the  earl  of  Sa- 
lisbury, who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  by  his  mili- 
tary talents  during  the  present  war.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  French  king  reinforced  the  garrison,  and  replenished 
the  magazines,  and  appointed  as  governor  the  lord  of 
Gaucur,  a  brave  and  experienced  officer. 

The  earl  of  Salisbury  approached  the  place  with  an  ar- 
my of  ten  thousand  men,  and  was  killed  by  a  cannon  shot 
in  a  successful  attack  on  the  fortifications.  The  earl  of 
Suffolk  succeeded  to  the  command  ;  and  being  reinforced 
by  large  bodies  of  English  and  Burgundians,  he  com 
pletely  invested  Orleans.  The  inclemency  of  the  season, 
and  the  rigour  of  the  winter,  could  not  overcome  the  per- 
severance of  the  besiegers,  who  seemed  daily  advancing 
to  the  completion  of  their  enterprise.     In  order  to  distress 


HENRY  VI.  129 

the  enemy,  the  French  had  ravaged  and  exhausted  the 
whole  surrounding  country ;  and  the  English  were  com- 
pelled to  draw  their  subsistence  from  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. A  convoy  of  provisions  was  escorted  by  Sir  John 
FalstofFe,  with  a  detachment  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
men.  FalstofFe,  being  attacked  by  a  body  of  four  thou- 
sand French,  under  the  command  of  the  counts  of  Cler- 
mont and  Dunois,  drew  up  his  men  behind  the  wagons ; 
when  the  French  were  defeated  by  their  own  impetuosity, 
and  five  hundred  of  them  perished  on  the  field. 

Charles  had  now  only  one  expedient  left  for  preserving 
that  city.  The  duke  of  Orleans,  still  a  prisoner  in  Eng- 
land, had  prevailed  on  the  duke  of  Gloucester  and  his 
council  to  consent  to  a  neutrality  in  his  demesnes,  which 
should  be  sequestered  during  the  war  into  the  hands  of 
the  duke  of  Burgundy ;  but  this  proposal  was  rejected  by 
the  duke  of  Bedford,  who  replied,  that  "  he  was  not  in  a 
humour  to  beat  the  bushes,  whilst  others  ran  away  with 
the  game."  This  answer  disgusted  the  duke  of  Burgun- 
dy, who  separated  his  forces  from  those  of  the  English ; 
but  the  latter  pressed  the  siege  with  increased  ardour: 
and  scarcity  was  already  experienced  by  the  garrison  and 
inhabitants. 

Charles,  almost  reduced  to  despair,  entertained  thoughts 
of  retiring  with  the  remains  of  his  army  into  Dauphine 
and  Languedoc  ;  but  he  was  diverted  from  his  purpose  by 
the  intreaties  of  his  queen,  Mary  of  Anjou,  a  princess  of 
prudence  and  spirit,  and  by  the  remonstrances  of  his  beau- 
tiful mistress,  the  celebrated  Agnes  Sorele. 

In  the  village  of  Domremi,  near  Vaucouleurs,  on  the 
borders  of  Lorraine,  lived  a  country  girl,  called  Joan  d'Arc, 
who  was  a  servant  in  a  small  inn,  and  who,  having  been 
accustomed  to  ride  the  horses  of  her  master's  guests  to 
water,  had  acquired  a  degree  of  hardihood,  which  enabled 
her  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  war.  The  present  situation 
of  France  was  the  common  topic  of  conversation.  Joan, 
inflamed  by  the  general  sentiment,  fancied  that  she  was 
destined  by  heaven  to  re-establish  the  throne  of  her  sove- 
reign ;  and  the  intrepidity  of  her  mind  led  her  to  despise 
the  dangers  which  would  naturally  attend  such  an  attempt. 
She  procured  admission  to  Baudricourt,  the  governor  of 
Vaucouleurs  ;  and  declared  to  him,  that  she  had  been  ex- 
horted by  visions  and  voices  to  achieve  the  deliverance  of 


130  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

her  country.     Baudricourt,  either  equally  credulous  him 
self,  or  sufficiently  penetrating  to  foresee  the  effect  such 
an  enthusiast  might  have  on  the  minds  of  the  vulgar, 
gave  her  an  escort  to  the  French  court,  which  at  that  time 
resided  at  Chinon. 

On  her  arrival,  she  is  said  to  have  distinguished  Charles, 
though  he  purposely  remained  in  the  crowd  of  his  cour- 
tiers, and  had  divested  himself  of  every  ensign  of  royalty ; 
to  have  offered  him  to  raise  the  siege  of  Orleans,  and  to 
conduct  him  to  Rheims,  there  to  be  crowned  and  anointed ; 
and  to  have  demanded,  as  the  instrument  of  her  future 
victories,  a  sword  which  was  kept  in  the  church  of  St. 
Catharine,  of  Firebois,  and  which,  though  she  had  never 
seen  it,  she  described  by  its  particular  marks.  Charles 
and  his  ministers  pretended  to  examine  her  claims  with 
scrupulous  exactness ;  and  her  mission  was  pronounced 
authentic  and  supernatural  by  an  assemblage  of  doctors 
and  theologians,  and  by  the  parliament  of  France,  then 
residing  at  Poictiers. 

To  essay  the  "power  of  Joan,  she  was  sent  to  Blois, 
where  a  convoy  was  already  provided  for  the  relief  of  Or- 
leans, and  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men  were  assembled 
to  escort  it.  The  holy  maid  marched  at  the  head  of  the 
troops,  and  displayed  in  her  hand  a  consecrated  banner, 
on  which  was  represented  the  Supreme  Being  holding  the 
globe  of  the  earth.  The  English  affected  to  deride  the 
maid  and  her  heavenly  commission ;  but  the  common 
soldiers  were  insensibly  impressed  with  horror,  and  waited 
with  anxious  dread  the  issue  of  these  extraordinary  pre- 
parations. In  this  state  of  the  public  mind,  the  earl  of 
Suffolk  durst  not  venture  an. attack ;  and  the  French  army 
returned  to  Blois  without  interruption.  The  maid  enter- 
ed the  city  of  Orleans,  arrayed  in  her  military  garb,  and 
displaying  her  consecrated  standard,  and  was  received  by 
the  inhabitants  as  a  celestial  deliverer.  A  second  convoy 
approached  the  city,  on  the  side  of  Bausse  ;  and  the  wa- 
gons and  troops  passed  without  interruption  between  the 
redoubts  of  the  English,  who,  formerly  elated  with  victory, 
and  impatient  for  action,  beheld  the  enterprises  of  their 
enemies  in  silent  astonishment  and  religious  awe.  The 
maid  seized  the  critical  moment,  and  exhorting  the  garri- 
son to  attack  the  enemy  in  their  entrenchments,  the  Eng- 
lish were  successively  chased  from  their  posts  with  the 


I 


HENRY  VI.  131 


lo*s  of  above  six  thousand  men.  In  vain  did  the  English 
generals  oppose  the  prevailing  opinion  of  supernatural 
influence  ;  the  English  had  lost  their  wonted  courage  and 
confidence,  and  were  seized  with  amazement  and  despair. 

Unable  to  remain  longer  in  the  presence  of  a  victorious 
enemy,  the  earl  of  Suffolk  raised  the  siege,  and  retired  to 
Jergeau,  which  was  attacked  by  the  French,  under  the 
command  of  Joan.  On  this  occasion,  the  maid  displayed 
her  usual  intrepidity,  and  led  the  attack.  #The  place  was 
obstinately  defended ;  but  the  English  were  at  length  over- 
powered, and  Suffolk  was  obliged  to  yield  himself  prisoner. 
The  remainder  of  the  English  army,  commanded  by  Fal- 
stoffe,  Scales,  and  Talbot,  were  pressed  by  the  constable 
Richemont.  They  were  overtaken  at  the  village  of  Patay ; 
and  oppressed  by  their  fears,  they  immediately  fled.  Two 
thousand  of  the  English  were  slaughtered;  and  both  Scales 
and  Talbot  were  made  prisoners. 

The  maid  had  fulfilled  one  part  of  her  promise ;  and 
she  now  strongly  insisted  that  the  king  should  be  crowned 
at  Rheims.  The  city  itself  lay  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
kingdom,  and  was  in  the  hands  of  Ihe  English ;  and  the 
whole  road  which  led  to  it  was  occupied  by  their  garri- 
sons. However,  Charles  resolved  to  follow  the  exhorta- 
tions of  his  warlike  prophetess  ;  and  he  set  out  for  Rheims, 
at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  men.  Troys  and  Chalons 
opened  their  gates  to  him ;  and  he  was  admitted  into 
Rheims,  where  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation  was  per- 
formed. From  this  act,  as  from  a  heavenly  commission, 
Charles  seemed  to  derive  an  additional  title  to  the  crown, 
and  many  towns  in  the  neighbourhood  immediately  sub- 
mitted to  his  authority. 

The  abilities  of  the  duke  of  Bedford  were  never  dis- 
played to  more  advantage  than  on  this  occasion. 
He  put  all  the  English  garrisons  in  a  posture  of  \\e>i\ 
defence ;  he  retained  the  Parisians  in  obedience  by 
alternately  employing  caresses  and  menaces ;  and  he  had 
the  address  to  renew,  in  this  dangerous  crisis,  his  alliance 
with  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  who  had  begun  to  waver  in 
his  fidelity.     The  French  army,  which  consisted  chiefly 
of  volunteers,  soon  after  disbanded ;  and  Charles,  after 
having  possessed  himself  of  Laval,  Lagni,  and  St.  Denys, 
retired  to  Bourges.     Bedford  caused  Henry  the  Sixth  to 
be  crowned  and  anointeu  at  Paris,  and  exacted  an  oath 


132  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  allegiance  from  all  who  lived  in  the  provinces  still  pos- 
sessed by  England. 

After  the  coronation  of  Charles  at  Rheims,  the  maid  of 
Orleans  declared  that  her  mission  was  now  fulfilled;  but 
the  count  of  Dunois  exhorted  her  to  persevere  till  the 
English  should  be  finally  expelled.  Overcome  by  his  im- 
portunities, she  had  thrown  herself  into  the  town  of  Com - 
peigne,  which  was  at  that  time  besieged  by  the  duke  of 
Bedford,  assisted  by  the  earls  of  Arundel  and  Suffolk.  In 
a  sally,  she  was  deserted  by  her  friends,  probably  out  of 
envy ;  and  being  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  she  was  taken 
prisoner.  The  duke  of  Bedford  purchased  the  captive 
from  John  of  Luxemburgh,  into  whose  hands  she  had  fal- 
len, and  commenced  a  prosecution  against  her,  which, 
whether  undertaken  from  policy  or  revenge,  was  equally 
barbarous  and  dishonourable.  She  was  tried  for  sorcery, 
impiety,  idolatry,  and  magic ;  and  though  harassed  by  in- 
terrogatories for  the  space  of  four  hours,  she  betrayed  no 
weakness  or  womanish  submission,  but  answered  with 
firmness  and  intrepidity.  However,  she  was  convicted  of 
all  the  crimes  of  which  she  had  been  accused,  aggravated 
by  heresy ;  her  revelations  were  declared  to  be  the  inven- 
tions of  the  devil  to  delude  the  people  ;  and  she  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  burnt  in  the  market  place  of  Rouen.  The 
inhuman  sentence  was  accordingly  executed ;  and  the  un- 
happy victim  expiated  by  her  death  the  signal  services 
which  she  had  rendered  to  her  prince  and  her  country. 

The  affairs  of  the  English,  instead  of  being  advanced  by 
this  inhuman  act,  became  every  day  more  ruinous ;  and 
the  abilities  of  Bedford  were  unable  to  prevent  the  French 
from  returning  under  the  obedience  of  their  legitimate 
sovereign.  The  duke  of  Burgundy  determined  to  unite 
himself  to  the  royal  family  of  France,  from  which  his  own 
had  descended ;  and  a  congress  was  appointed  at 
,n.r  Arras,  in  which  were  adjusted  the  mutual  preten- 
sions of  Charles  and  Philip.  Soon  after  this  trans- 
action, the  duke  of  Bedford  expired,  a  prince  of  great 
abilities  and  many  virtues,  and  whose  memory  is  chiefly 
tarnished  by  the  execution  of  the  maid  of  Orleans.  After 
his  death,  the  court  of  Henry  was  distracted  by  the  rival 
parties  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester  and  the  cardinal  of 
Winchester ;  and  it  was  seven  months  before  the  duke  of 
York,  son  to  the  earl  of  Cambridge,  who  had  been  execu- 


I 


henry  vr.  133 

ted  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  reign,  was  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  the  duke  of  Bedford.  On  his  arrival  in  France, 
the  new  governor  found  the  capital  already  lost.  The  Pa- 
risians were  attached  to  the  house  of  Burgundy ;  and  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Arras,  they  returned  to 
their  allegiance  under  their  native  sovereign.  Lord  Wil- 
loughby,  with  an  English  garrison  of  fifteen  hundred  men, 
retired  into  the  Bastile ;  but  his  valour  and  skill  only 
served  to  procure  him  a  capitulation,  by  which  he  was 
allowed  with  his  troops  a  safe  retreat  into  Normandy. 

The  cardinal  of  Winchester  had  always  encouraged 
every  proposal  of  accommodation  with  France,  and  had 
represented  the  utter  impossibility  of  pushing  farther  the 
conquest  in  that  kingdom ;  but  the  duke  of  Gloucester, 
high-spirited  and  haughty,  and  educated  in  the  lofty  pre- 
tensions which  the  first  success  of  his  two  brothers  had 
rendered  familiar  to  him,  could  not  be  induced  to  relin- 
quish all  hopes  of  subduing  France.     However,  the  earl  of 
Suffolk,  who  adhered  to  the  cardinal's  party,  was  des- 
patched to  Tours  to  negotiate  with  the  French  mi- 
nisters.    As  it  was  found  impossible  to  adjust  the  *  \*f\ 
terms  of  a  lasting  peace,  a  truce  for  twenty-two 
months  was  concluded  ;  and  Suffolk  proceeded  to  the  ex- 
ecution of  another  business,  which  seems  to  have  been 
rather  implied  than  expressed  in  the  powers  granted  to  him. 

As  Henry  advanced  in  years,  his  character  became  fully 
known.  He  was  found  to  be  of  the  most  harmless,  simple 
mariners,  but  of  the  most  slender  capacity  ;  and  hence  it 
was  easy  to  foresee  that  his  reign  would  prove  a  perpetual 
minority.  As  he  had  now,  however,  reached  the  twenty- 
third  year  of  his  age,  it  was  natural  to  think  of  choosing 
him  a  queen.  The  duke  of  Gloucester  proposed  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  count  of  Armagnac,-  but  the  cardinal  and  his 
friends  cast  their  eyes  on  Margaret  of  Anjou,  daughter  of 
Regnier,  titular  king  of  Sicily,  Naples,  and  Jerusalem  :  a 
princess  accomplished  both  in  person  and  mind,  of  a  mas- 
culine spirit,  and  an  enterprising  temper,  which  she  had 
not  been  able  to  conceal  even  in  the  privacy  of  her  father's 
family.  The  earl  of  Suffolk,  in  concert  with  his  associates 
of  the  English  council,  made  proposals  of  marriage  to 
Margaret,  which  were  accepted.  Though  Margaret 
brought  no  dowry  with  her,  this  nobleman  ventured  of 
himself,  without  any  direct  authority  from  the  council, 
12 


134  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

but  probably  with  the  approbation  of  the  cardinal  and  the 
ruling  members,  to  engage,  by  a  secret  article,  that  the 
province  of  Maine,  which  was  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of 
the  English,  should  be  ceded  to  Charles  of  Anjou,  her 
uncle,  who  was  prime  minister  and  favourite  of  the  French 
king,  and  who  had  already  received  from  his  master  the 
grant  of  that  province  as  his  appanage. 

The  treaty  of  marriage  was  ratified  in  England :  Suffolk 
obtained  first  the  title  of  marquis,  then  that  of  duke  ;  and 
even  received  the  thanks  of  parliament  for  his  services  in 
concluding  it.  The  princess  immediately  fell  into  close 
connexions  with  the  cardinal  and  his  party,  who,  fortified 
by  her  powerful  patronage,  resolved  on  the  final  ruin  of  the 
duke  of  Gloucester. 

The  generous  prince,  ill-suited  to  court  intrigues,  but 
possessing  in  a  high  degree  the  favour  of  the  public,  had 
received  from  his  rivals  a  cruel  mortification,  which  he 
had  hitherto  borne  without  violating  the  public  peace,  but 
which  it  was  impossible  that  a  person  of  his  spirit  and  hu- 
manity could  ever  forgive.  His  duchess,  the  daughter  of 
lteginal  lord  Cobham,  had  been  accused  of  the  crime  of 
witchcraft ;  and  it  was  pretended  that  there  was  found  in 
her  possession  a  waxen  figure  of  the  king,  which  she  and 
her  associates,  sir  Roger  Bolingbroke,  a  priest,  and  one 
Marjery  Jordan  of  Eye,  melted  in  a  magical  manner  be- 
fore a  slow  fire,  with  an  intention  of  making  Henry's  force 
and  vigour  waste  away,  by  like  insensible  degrees.  The 
accusation  was  well  calculated  to  affect  the  weak  and 
credulous  mind  of  the  king,  and  to  gain  belief  in  an  igno- 
rant age ;  and  the  duchess  was  brought  to  trial  wkh  her 
confederates.  A  charge  of  this  ridiculous,  nature  seems 
always  to  exempt  the  accusers  from  observing  the  rules  of 
common  sense  in  their  evidence  :  the  prisoners  were  pro- 
nounced guilty;  the  duchess  was  condemned  to  do  public 
penance,  and  to  suffer  perpetual  imprisonment ;  and  the 
others  were  executed.  As  these  violent  proceedings  weie 
ascribed  solely  to  .the  malice  of  the  duke's  enemies,  the 
people,  contrary  to  their  usual  practice  in  such  trials,  ac- 
quitted the  unhappy  sufferers,  and  increased  their  esteem 
and  affection  towards  a  prince  who  was  thus  exposed  to 
mortal  injuries. 

The  sentiments  of  the  public  made  the  cardinal  and  hi 
party  sensible  that  it  was  necessary  to  destroy  a  man  who 


: 


. 


HENRY   VI.  136 


ey  had  so  deeply  injured.     In  order  to  effect  their  pur- 
pose, a  parliament  was  summoned  to  meet,  not  at  Lon- 
don, which  was  supposed  to  be  too  well    affected  to  the 
duke,  but  at  St.  Edmondsbury.     As  soon  as  Gloucester 
appeared,  he  was  accused  of  treason,  and  thrown 
into  prison  :  he  was  soon  after  found  dead  in  his  ,  \  .1 
bed  ;  and  though  it  was  pretended  that  his  death 
was  natural,  and  his  body  bore  no  marks  of  outward  vio- 
lence, no  one  doubted  but  he  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the 
vengeance  of  his  enemies. 

The  cardinal  of  Winchester  died  six  weeks  after  his 
nephew,  whose  murder  was  universally  ascribed  to  him  as 
well  as  to  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  and  which,  it  is  said,  gave 
him  more  remorse  in  his  last  moments,  than  could  be 
naturally  expected  from  a  man  hardened,  during  the 
course  of  a  long  life,  in  falsehood  and  in  politics.  What 
share  the  queen  had  in  this  guilt  is  uncertain :  her  usual 
activity  and  spirit  made  the  people  conclude,  with  some 
reason,  that  the  duke's  enemies  durst  not  have  ventured 
on  such  a  deed  without  her  privity.  But  there  happened, 
soon  after,  an  event  of  which  she  and  her  favourite,  the 
duke  of  Suffolk,  bore  incontestibly  the  whole  odium. 

The  article  of  the  marriage  treaty,  by  which  the  pro- 
vince of  Maine  was  Jo  be  ceded  to  Charles  of  Anjou,  the 
queen's  uncle,  had  been  hitherto  kept  secret;  but  as  the 
court  of  France  strenuously  insisted  on  its  performance, 
orders  were  now  despatched,  under  Henry's  hand,  to  Sir 
Francis  Surienne,  governor  of  Mans,  to  surrender  that 
place.  Surienne,  questioning  the  authenticity  of  the  order, 
refused  to  comply ;  but  a  French  army,  under  the  count  of 
Dunois,  obliged  him  to  surrender  not  only  Mans,  but  all 
the  other  fortresses  in  that  province.  Surienne,  at  the 
head  of  his  garrisons,  retired  into  Normandy :  but  the 
duke  of  Somerset,  who  was  governor  of  that  province, 
refused  to  admit  him ;  and  this  adventurer  marched  into 
Brittany,  and  subsisted  his  troops  by  the  ravages  which 
he  exercised.  The  duke  of  Brittany  complained  of  this 
violence  to  the  king  of  France,  his  liege  lord ;  and  Charles 
remonstrated  with  Somerset,  who  replied,  that  the  injury 
was  done  without  his  privity,  and  that  he  had  no  authority 
over  Surienne.  Charles  refused  to  admit  of  this  apology, 
and  insisted  that  reparation  should  be  made  to  the  duke  of 
Brittany  for  all  the  damages  which  he  had  sustained;  and, 
in  order  to  render  an  accommodation  absolutely  imprac- 


136  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

ticable,  he  estimated  the  loss  at  no  less  a  sum  than  one 
million  six  hundred  thousand  crowns. 

Sensible  of  the  superiority  which  the  present  state  of 
his  affairs  gave  him  over  England,  he  was  determined  to 
take  advantage  of  it ;  and,  accordingly,  Normandy  was 
at  once  invaded  by  four  powerful  armies :  the  first 
1449  commanded  by  the  king  of  France  himself;  the 
second,  by  the  duke  of  Brittany  ;  the  third,  by  the 
duke  of  Alengon ;  and  the  fourth,  by  the  count  of  Dunois. 
The    conquest  of  Normandy  was   speedily  finished    by 
Charles.     A  like  rapid  success  attended  the  French  arms 
in  Guienne  ;  and  the  English  were  expelled  from  a  pro- 
vince which  they  had  held  for  three  centuries. 

The  palpable  weakness  of  Henry  the  Sixth  had  encou- 
raged a  pretender  to  the  crown  of  England;  and  the 
English  were  doomed  to  pay,  though  late,  the  penalty  of 
their  turbulence  under  Richard  the  Second,  and  of  their 
levity  in  violating,  without  any  necessity,  the  lineal  succes- 
sion of  their  monarchs.  All  the  males  of  the  house  of 
Mortimer  were  extinct ;  but  Anne,  the  sister  of  the  last 
earl  of  Marche,  having  espoused  the  earl  of  Cambridge, 
beheaded  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V.,  had  transmitted  her 
latent,  but  not  yet  forgotten,  claim  to  her  son,  Richard, 
duke  of  York.  This  prince,  thus  descended  by  his  mother 
from  Philippa,  only  daughter  of  the  duke  of  Clarence, 
second  son  of  Edward  III.,  stood  plainly  in  the  order  of 
succession  before  the  king,  who  derived  his  descent  from 
the  duke  of  Lancaster,  third  son  of  that  monarch ;  and 
that  claim  could  not,  in  many  respects,  have  fallen  into' 
more  dangerous  hands  than  those  of  the  duke  of  York. 
Richard  was  a  man  of  valour  and  abilities,  of  a  prudent 
conduct  and  mild  disposition ;  he  had  enjoyed  an  oppor- 
tunity of  displaying  these  virtues  in  his  government  of 
France ;  and  though  recalled  by  the  intrigues  and  superior 
interest  of  the  duke  of  Somerset,  he  had  been  sent  to  sup- 
press a  rebellion  in  Ireland  ;  and  had  even  been  able  to 
attach  to  his  person  and  family  the  whole  Irish  nation, 
whom  he  was  sent  to  subdue.  In  the  right  of  his  father, 
he  bore  the  rank  of  first  prince  of  the  blood ;  and  by  this 
station  he  gave  a  lustre  to  his  title  derived  from  the  family 
of  Mortimer,  which,  however,  had  been  eclipsed  by  the 
royal  descent  of  the  house  of  Lancaster.  He  possessed 
an  immense  fortune  from  the  union  of  so  many  succes- 


HENRY  VI.  137 

sions,  those  of  Cambridge  and  York  on  the  one  hand, 
with  those  of  Mortimer  on  the  other ;  which  last  inheri- 
tance had  been  before  augmented  by  a  union  of  the 
estates  of  Clarence  and  Ulster,  with  the  patrimonial  pos- 
sessions of  the  family  of  Marche.  The  alliance  too  of 
Richard,  by  his  marrying  the  daughter  of  Ralph  Nevil, 
earl  of  Westmoreland,  had  widely  extended  his  interest 
among  the  nobility,  and  had  procured  him  many  connec- 
tions in  that  formidable  order.  Among  the  rest,  he  was 
nearly  allied  to  the  earl  of  Warwick,  commonly  known 
from  the  subsequent  events  by  the  appellation  of  the  King- 
maker. This  nobleman  had  distinguished  himself  by  his 
gallantry  in  the  field,  by  the  hospitality  of  his  table,  by 
the  magnificence,  and  still  more  by  the  generosity  of  his 
expense,  and  by  the  spirited  and  bold  manner  which  at- 
tended him  in  all  his  actions.  The  undesigning  frankness 
and  openness  of  his  character  rendered  his  conquest  over 
men's  affections  the  more  certain.  No  less  than  thirty 
thousand  persons  are  said  to  have  daily  lived  at  his  ex- 
pense in  the  different  manors  and  castles  which  he  pos- 
sessed ;  and  he  was  the  greatest,  as  well  as  the  last,  of 
those  mighty  barons,  who  formerly  overawed  the  crown. 

The  humours  of  the  people,  set  afloat  by  a  parliamen- 
tary impeachment,  and  by  the  fall  of  the  duke  of  Suffolk, 
broke  out  in  various  commotions,  which  were  soon  sup- 
pressed ;  but  an  insurrection  in  Kent  was  attended  with 
more  dangerous  consequences.  One  John  Cade,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  a  man  of  low  condition,  who  had  been  obliged 
to  fly  into  France  for  crimes,  observed,  on  his  return  to 
England,  the  discontents  of  the  people,  and  assumed  the 
name  of  John  Mortimer.  On  the  first  mention  of  that 
popular  name,  the  common  people  of  Kent,  to  the  num- 
ber of  twenty  thousand,  flocked  to  Cable's  standard ;  and 
he  inflamed  their  zeal  by  publishing  complaints  against 
the  numerous  abuses  in  government,  and  demanding  a  re- 
dress of  grievances.  Cade  advanced  with  his  followers 
towards  London,  and  encamped  on  Blackheath;  and 
transmitting  to  the  court  a  plausible  list  of  grievances,  he 
promised  that  when  these  should  be  redressed,  and  lord 
Say  the  treasurer,  and  Cromer  sheriff  of  Kent,  should  be. 
punished  for  their  malversations,  he  would  immediately 
lay  down  his  arms.  The  council,  perceiving  the  reluc- 
tance of  the  people  to  fight  against  men  so  reasonable  in 
12* 


138  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

their  pretensions,  carried  the  king,  for  present  safety,  to 
Kenilworth ;  and  the  city  immediately  opened  its  gates  to 
Cade,  who  maintained,  during  some  time,  great  order  and 
discipline  among  his  followers.  But  being  obliged,  in 
order  to  gratify  their  malevolence  against  Say  and  Cro- 
mer, to  put  these  men  to  death  without  a  legal  trial,  he 
found  that  after  the  commission  of  this  crime,  he  was  no 
longer  able  to  control  their  riotous  disposition,  and  that 
all  his  orders  were  disobeyed.  Proceeding  to  acts  of  plun- 
der and  violence,  the  citizens  became  alarmed,  and  shut 
their  gates  against  them  ;  and,  being  seconded  by  a  de- 
tachment of  soldiers  sent  them  by  lord  Scales,  governor  of 
the  tower,  they  repulsed  the  rebels  with  great  slaughter. 
The  Rentishmen  were  so  discouraged  by  the  blow,  that 
upon  receiving  a  general  pardon  from  the  primate,  then 
chancellor,  they  retreated  towards  Rochester,  and  there 
dispersed.  The  pardon,  however,  was  soon  after  annulled, 
as  extorted  by  violence ;  a  price  was  set  on  Cade's  head, 
who  was  killed  by  one  Iden,  a  gentleman  of  Sussex ;  and 
many  of  his  followers  were  punished  with  death. 

The  court  suspected  that  the  duke  of  York  had  secretly 
instigated  Cade  to  this  attempt,  to  sound  the  dispositions 
of  the  people  towards  his  title  and  family ;  and  fearing 
that  he  intended  to  return  from  Ireland  with  an  armed 
force,  the  ruling  party  issued  orders  debarring  him  en- 
trance into  England.  The  duke  refuted  his  enemies  by 
coming  attended  with  only  his  ordinary  retinue ;  but  find- 
ing himself  an  object  of  jealousy,  he  saw  the  impossibility 
of  remaining  a  quiet  subject,  and  the  necessity  of  pro- 
ceeding forward  in  support  of  his  claim.  His  partisans, 
therefore,  were  instructed  to  maintain  his  right  by  succes- 
sion, and  by  the  established  constitution  of  the  kingdom  ; 
and  the  arguments  adduced  by  his  adherents  and  those  of 
the  reigning  family,  divided  and  distracted  the  people. 
The  noblemen  of  greatest  influence  espoused  the  part  of 
the  duke  of  York ;  but  the  earl  of  Northumberland  adher- 
ed to  the  present  government ;  and  the  earl  of  Westmore- 
land, though  head  of  the  family  of  Nevil,  was  prevailed  on 
to  support  the  cause  of  Henry. 

The  public  discontents  were  increased  by  the  loss  of 
the  province  of  Gascony,  which  was  subdued  by  the 
French ;  and  though  the  English  might  deem  themselves 
happy  in  being  freed  from  all  continental  possessions, 


HENRY  VI.  139 

they  expressed  great  dissatisfaction  on  the  occasion,  and 
threw  all  the  blame  on  the  ministry.  While  they  were  in 
this  disposition,  the  queen's  delivery  of  a  son,  who  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Edward,  had  a  tendency  to  inflame 
the  public  mind,  as  it  removed  all  hopes  of  the  peaceable 
succession  of  the  duke  of  York,  who  was  otherwise,  in 
the  right  of  his  father,  and  by  the  laws  enacted  since  the 
accession  of  the  house  of  Lancaster,  next  heir  to  the  crown. 
The  duke,  however,  was  incapable  of  violent  councils ; 
and  even  when  no  visible  obstacles  lay  between  him  and 
the  throne,  he  was  prevented  by  his  own  scruples  from 
mounting  it.  Henry,  always  unfit  to  exercise  the  govern- 
ment, fell  about  this  time  into  a  distemper,  which  so  far 
increased  his  natural  imbecility,  that  it  rendered  him  inca- 
pable of  maintaining  even  the  appearance  of  royalty. 
The  queen  and  the  council,  destitute  of  this  support,  and 
finding  themselves  unable  to  resist  the  York  party,  were 
obliged  to  yield  to  the  torrent.  They  sent  to  the  tower 
the  duke  of  Somerset,  who  had  succeeded  to  Suffolk's 
influence  in  the  ministry,  and  who  had  soon  become 
equally  the  object  of  public  animosity  and  hatred ;  and  they 
appointed  Richard  lieutenant  of  the  kingdom,  with  powers 
to  open  and  hold  a  session  of  parliament.  That  assembly 
also,  taking  into  consideration  the  state  of  the  kingdom, 
created  him  protector  during  pleasure.  Yet  the  duke,  in- 
stead of  pushing  them  to  make  farther  concessions,  ap- 
peared somewhat  timid  and  irresolute,  even  in  receiving 
the  power  which  was  tendered  to  him.  This  moderation 
of  Richard  was  certainly  very  unusual  and  very  amiable  ; 
yet  it  was  attended  with  bad  consequences  in  the  present 
juncture,  and,  by  giving  time  to  the  aniniosities  of  faction 
to  rise  and  ferment,  it  proved  the  source  of  all  those  furi- 
ous wars  and  commotions  which  ensued. 

The  enemies  of  the  duke  of  York  soon  found  it  in  their 
power  to  take  advantage  of  his  excessive  caution.  Hen- 
ry, being  so  far  recovered  from  his  distemper  as  to  carry 
the  appearance  of  exercising  the  royal  power,  was  moved 
to  resume  his  authority,  to  annul  the  protectorship  of  the 
duke,  to  release  Somerset  from  the  tower,  and  to  commit 
the  administration  into  the  hands  of  that  nobleman.  Ri- 
chard, sensible  of  the  dangers  to  which  he  might  be  ex- 
posed, if  he  submitted  to  the  annulling  of  the  parliamen- 
tary commission,  levied  an  army ;  but  still  without  advan- 


140  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

cing  any  pretensions  to  the  crown.     He  complained  only 
of  the  king's  ministers,  and  demanded  a  reformation  of 

the  government.     A  battle  was  fought  at  St.  Al- 
lAze  ban's,  in  which  the  Yorkists,  without  suffering  any 

material  loss,  slew  about  five  thousand  of  their 
enemies.  The  king  himself  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  duke 
of  York,  who  treated  him  with  great  respect  and  tender- 
ness ;  and  he  was  only  obliged,  which  he  regarded  as  no 
hardship,  to  commit  the  whole  authority  of  the  crown  into 
the  hands  of  his  rival.  This  was  the  first  blood  spilt  in 
that  fatal  quarrel  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancas- 
ter, which  lasted  for  thirty  years,  and  which  is  computed 
to  have  cost  the  lives  of  eighty  princes  of  the  blood,  and 
almost  entirely  annihilated  the  ancient  nobility  of  England. 
An  outward  reconciliation  was  effected,  by  means  of  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  between  the  two  parties ;  but 
it  was  evident,  that  the  contest  for  a  crown  could  not  thus 
be  peaceably  accommodated.  One  of  the  king's  retinue 
insulted  one  of  the  earl  of  Warwick's,  and  their  compa- 
nions on  both  sides  took  part  in  the  quarrel ;  a  fierce  com- 
bat ensued  ;  the  earl,  apprehending  his  life  to  be  aimed  at, 
fled  to  his  government  of  Calais,  which  gave  him  the  com- 
mand of  the  only  regular  force  maintained  by  England ; 
and  both  parties,  in  every  county,  openly  made  prepara- 
tions for  deciding  the  contest  by  arms. 

The  earl  of  Salisbury,  marching  to  join  the  duke  of 
York,  was  overtaken  at  Blore-heath,  on  the  borders  of 
Staffordshire,  by  lord  Audley,  who  commanded  much 
superior  forces.  A  small  rivulet  ran  between  the  two 
armies ;  and  when  the  van  of  the  royal  army  had  passed 
the  brook,  Salisbury  suddenly  attacked  them,  and  put 
them  to  the  rout ;  and  obtaining  a  complete  victory,  he 
reached  the  general  rendezvous  of  the  Yorkists  at  Ludlow. 
To  the  same  place,  the  earl  of  Warwick  brought  a  choice 
body  of  veterans  from  Calais,  on  whom  it  was  thought 
the  fortune  of  the  war  would  much  depend ;  but  when  the 
royal  army  approached,  and  a  general  action  was  every 
hour  expected,  sir  Andrew  Trollop,  who  commanded  the 
veterans,  deserted  to  the  king  in  the  night  time,  and  the 
Yorkists  were  so  dismayed  at  this  instance  of  treachery, 
which  made  every  man  suspicious  of  his  fellow,  that  they 
separated  next  day,  without  striking  a  stroke.  The  duke 
fled  to  Ireland ;  the  earl  of  Warwick,  attended  by  many 


HENRY   VI.  141 

of  the  other  leaders,  escaped  to  Calais,  where  his  great 
popularity  among  all  orders  of  men  soon  drew  to  him  par- 
tisans ;  and  the  friends  of  the  house  of  York,  in  England, 
kept  themselves  every  where  in  readiness  to  rise  on  the 
first  summons. 

After  meeting  with  some  success  at  sea,  Warwick  land- 
ed in  Kent,  with  the  earl  of  Salisbury,  and  the  earl  of 
Marche,  eldest  son  of  the  duke  of  York ;  and  being  met 
by  the  primate,  by  lord  Cobham,  and  other  persons  of  dis- 
tinction, he  marched,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  London.  A  battle  was  fought  at  Northampton, 
and  was  soon  decided  against  the  royalists,  of  whom  the 
duke  of  Buckingham,  the  earl  of  Shrewsbury,  the  lords 
Beaumont  and  Egremont,  and  sir  William  Lucie,  with 
many  other  persons  of  quality,  were  killed  in  the  action 
or  pursuit.  Henry  himself  was  again  taken  prisoner;  and, 
as  the  innocence  and  simplicity  of  his  manners  had  pro- 
cured him  the  tender  regard  of  the  people,  he  was  treated 
with  abundant  respect. 

A  parliament  was  summoned  in  the  king's  name  at 
Westminster,  where  the  duke  of  York  soon  after  appeared 
from  Ireland.  This  prince  stated  to  the  house  of  peers  his 
own  claim  to  the  crown,  and  exhorted  them  to  do  justice 
to  the  lineal  successor.  The  lords  remained  in  some  sus- 
pense, but  at  length  declared  in  favour  of  the  duke  of  York. 
They  determined,  however,  that  Henry  should  possess  the 
dignity  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  ;  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  should  in  the  mean  while  remain 
with  Richard ;  and  that  he  should  be  acknowledged  the 
true  and  lawful  heir  of  the  monarchy. 

But  Margaret,  whose  high  spirit  spurned  at  the  com- 
pact, was  not  remiss  in  defending  the  rights  of  her  family. 
After  the  battle  of  Northampton,  she  had  fled  with  her  in- 
fant son  to  the  north,  where  her  affability,  insinuation,  and 
address,  among  the  northern  barons,  raised  her  an  army 
twenty  thousand  strong,  with  a  celerity  which  was  neither 
expected  by  her  friends,  nor  apprehended  by  her  enemies. 
The  duke  of  York,  informed  of  her  appearance  in  the 
north,  hastened  thither  with  a  body  of  five  thousand  men ; 
but  on  his  arrival  at  Wakefield,  finding  himself  so  much 
outnumbered  by  the  enemy,  he  threw  himself  into  Sandal 
castle ;  and  was  advised  by  the  earl  of  Salisbury  and  other 
prudent  counsellors,  to  remain  in  that  fortress,  till  his  son, 


142  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  earl  of  Marche,  who  was  levying  forces  in  the  borders 
of  Wales,  could  advance  to  his  assistance.  But  the  duke, 
who  possessed  personal  bravery  in  an  eminent  degree, 
thought  that  he  should  be  for  ever  disgraced,  if,  by  taking 
shelter  behind  walls,  he  should  for  a  moment  resign  the 
victory  to  a  woman.  He  therefore  descended  into  the 
plain,  and  offered  battle  to  the  enemy,  which  was  instantly 
accepted.  The  great  inequality  of  numbers  was  alone 
sufficient  to  decide  the  victory  ;  but  the  queen,  by  sending 
a  detachment,  who  fell  on  the  back  of  the  duke's  army, 
rendered  her  advantage  still  more  certain  and  undisputed. 
The  duke  himself  was  killed  in  the  action;  and  his  head, 
by  Margaret's  orders,  was  fixed  on  the  gates  of  York,  with 
a  paper  crown,  in  derision  of  his  pretended  title.  There 
fell  near  three  thousand  Yorkists  in  this  battle :  the  duke 
himself  was  greatly  and  justly  lamented  by  his  own  party. 
He  perished  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age,  and  left  three 
sons,  Edward,  George,  and  Richard,  with  three  daughters, 
Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Margaret. 

The  queen,  after  this  important  victory,  divided  her  ar- 
my. She  sent  the  smaller  division,  under  Jasper  Tudor, 
earl  of  Pembroke,  half  brother  to  the  king,  against  Ed- 
ward, the  new  duke  of  York.  She  herself  marched  with 
the  larger  division  towards  London,  where  the  earl  of 
Warwick  had  been  left  with  the  command  of  the  Yorkists. 
Pembroke  was  defeated  by  Edward  at  Mortimer's  Cross, 
in  Herefordshire,  with  the  loss  of  near  four  thousand  men ; 
but  Margaret  compensated  this  defeat  by  a  victory  whicli 
she  obtained  over  the  earl  of  Warwick  at  St.  Albans ;  and 
the  person  of  the  king  fell  again  into  the  hands  of  his 
own  party. 

The  queen,  however,  reaped  no  great  advantage  from 
this  victory.  Young  Edward  advanced  upon  her  from 
the  other  side  ;  and  collecting  the  remains  of  Warwick's 
army,  he  was  soon  in  a  condition  of  giving  her  battle  witli 
a  superior  force.  Sensible  of  her  danger,  she  found  it 
necessaiy  to  retreat  with  her  army  to  the  north ;  and  Ed- 
ward entered  the  capital  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the 
citizens.  Instead  of  confining  himself  to  the  narrow  limits 
to  which  his  father  had  submitted,  he  determined  to  avail 
himself  of  his  popularity,  and  to  assume  the  name  and 
dignity  of  king.  His  army  was  ordered  to  assemble  in 
St.  John's  Fields ;  great  numbers  of  people  surrounded 


EDWARD    IV*  143 

them  ;  an  harangue  was  pronounced  to  this  mixed  multi- 
tude,   setting  forth  the  title  of  Edward,  and  inveighing 
against  the  tyranny  and  usurpation  of  the  rival  family; 
and   the  people  were  then  asked,    whether   they  would 
accept  of  Edward,  eldest  son  of  the  late  duke  of  York, 
for  their  king  ]    They  expressed  their  assent  by  loud  and 
joyful  acclamations.     A  great  number  of  bishops,  lords, 
magistrates,  and  other  persons  of  distinction,  were 
next  assembled  at  Baynard's  castle,  who  ratified  ,  Vfil* 
the  popular  election ;  and  the  new  king  was  on  the 
subsequent  day  proclaimed  in  London,  by  the  title  of  Ed- 
ward the  Fourth. 

In  this  manner  ended  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.  a  monarch 
who,  while  in  his  cradle,  had  been  proclaimed  king  both 
of  France  and  England,  and  who  began  his  life  with  the 
most  splendid  prospects  that  any  prince  in  Europe  had 
ever  enjoyed.  His  weakness  and  his  disputed  title  were 
the  chief  causes  of  the  public  calamities  :  but  whether  his 
queen,  and  his  ministers,  were  not  also  guilty  of  some 
great  abuses  of  power,  it  is  not  easy  for  us  at  this  distance 
of  time  to  determine.  The  scaffold,  as  well  as  the  field, 
incessantly  streamed  with  the  noblest  blood  of  England, 
spilt  in  the  quarrel  between  the  two  contending  families, 
whose  animosity  was  now  become  implacable.  The  par- 
tisans of  the  house  of  Lancaster  chose  the  red  rose  as 
their  mark  of  distinction  ;  those  of  York  were  denomi- 
nated from  the  white ;  and  these  civil  wars  were  thus 
known,  over  Europe,  by  the  name  of  the  quarrel  between 
the  two  roses. 

Queen  Margaret  assembled  an  army  in  Yorkshire  ;  and 
the  king  and  the  earl  of  Warwick  hastened  with  forty 
thousand  men  to  check  her  progress.  In  a  skirmish  for 
the  passage  of  Ferrybridge  over  the  river  Ayre,  the  York- 
ists were  chased  back  with  great  slaughter.  The  earl  of 
Warwick,  dreading  the  consequences  of  this  disaster,  at  a 
time  when  a  decisive  action  was  every  hour  expected, 
immediately  ordered  his  horse  to  be  brought  him,  which 
lie  stabbed  before  the  whole  army ;  and  kissing  the  hilt  of 
his  sword,  swore  that  he  was  determined  to  share  the  fate 
of  the  meanest  soldier.  And,  to  show  the  greater  security, 
a  proclamation  was  at  the  same  time  issued,  giving  to 
every  one  full  liberty  to  retire ;  but  menacing  the  severest 


144  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

punishment  to  those  who  should  discover  any  symptoms  of 
cowardice  in  the  ensuing  battle. 

The  hostile  armies  met  at  Touton ;  and  a  fierce  and 
bloody  battle  ensued,  which  ended  in  a  total  victory  on 
the  side  of  the  Yorkists.  Edward  issued  orders  to  give 
no  quarter.  The  routed  army  was  pursued  to  Tadcaster 
with  great  bloodshed  and  confusion  ;  and  above  thirty-six 
thousand  men  are  computed  to  have  fallen  in  the  battle 
and  pursuit :  among  these  were  the  earl  of  Westmoreland, 
and  his  brother,  sir  John  Nevil,  the  earl  of  Northumber- 
land, the  lords  Dacres  and  Welles,  and  sir  Andrew  Trol- 
lop. The  earl  of  Devonshire,  who  was  now  engaged  in 
Henry's  party,  was  brought  a  prisoner  to  Edward ;  and 
was,  soon  after,  beheaded  by  martial  law  at  York.  Hen- 
ry and  Margaret  had  remained  at  York  during  the  action  ; 
but  learning  the  defeat  of  their  army,  and  being  sensible 
that  no  place  in  England  could  now  afford  them  shelter, 
they  fled  with  great  precipitation  into  Scotland ;  and  on 
Margaret's  offering  to  the  Scottish  council  to  deliver  to 
them  immediately  the  important  fortress  of  Berwick,  and 
to  contract  her  son  in  marriage  with  a  sister  of  king  James, 
the  Scots  promised  the  assistance  of  their  arms  to  reinstate 
her  family  upon  the  throne. 

But  as  the  danger  from  that  quarter  seemed  not  very 
urgent  to  Edward,  he  did  not  pursue  the  fugitive  king  and 
queen  into  their  retreat ;  but  returned  to  London,  where 
a  parliament  was  summoned  for  settling  the  government. 
That  assembly  no  longer  hesitated  between  the  two  fami- 
lies ;  they  recognised  the  title  of  Edward,  and  passed  an 
act  of  attainder  against  Henry  and  Margaret,  against  their 
infant  son  Edward,  and  their  principal  adherents. 

However,  Lewis  the  eleventh  of  France,  a  prince  of  an 
intriguing  and  politic  genius,  sent  a  body  of  two  thousand 
men  at  arms  to  the  assistance  of  Henry.  These  enabled 
Margaret  to  take  the  field ;  but  though  reinforced  by  a 
numerous  train  of  adventurers  from  Scotland,  and  by 
many  partisans  of  the  family  of  Lancaster,  she  received 
a  check  at  Hedgley-moor  from  lord  Montague,  brother  to . 
the  earl  of  Warwick,  who  was  so  encouraged  with  this 
success,  that  while  a  numerous  reinforcement  was  on 
their  march  to  join  him  by  orders  from  Edward,  he  ven- 
tured with  his  own  troops  alone  to  attack  the  Lancas- 
trians at  Hexham,  and  obtained  a  complete  victory  over 


EDWARD  IV.  145 

them.  All  those  who  were  spared  in  the  field  suffered  on 
the  scaffold  ;  and  the  utter  extermination  of  their  adversa- 
ries was  now  become  the  plain  object  of  the  York  party. 

The  fate  of  the  unfortunate  royal  family,  after  this  de- 
feat, was  singular.  Margaret,  fleeing  with  her  son  into  a 
forest,  was  beset,  during  the  darkness  of  the  night,  by 
robbers,  who  despoiled  her  of  her  rings  and  jewels,  and 
treated  her  with  the  utmost  indignity.  The  partition  of 
this  rich  booty  raised  a  quarrel  among  them ;  and  while 
their  attention  was  thus  engaged,  she  took  an  opportunity 
of  plunging  with  her  son  into  the  depths  of  the  forest. 
While  in  this  wretched  condition,  she  saw  a  robber  ap- 
proach with  his  naked  sword ;  and  finding  that  she  had 
no  means  of  escape,  she  suddenly  advanced  towards  him  ; 
and  presenting  to  him  the  young  prince,  called  out  to  him, 
"  here,  my  friend,  I  commit  to  your  care  the  safety  of 
your  king's  son."  The  man,  whose  humanity  and  gene- 
rous spirit  had  been  obscured,  not  entirely  lost,  by  his 
vicious  course  of  life,  was  charmed  with  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him,  and  vowed  not  only  to  abstain  from  all 
injury  against  the  princess,  but  to  devote  himself  entirely 
to  her  service.  By  his  means  she  dwelt  some  time  con- 
cealed in  the  forest,  and  was  at  last  conducted  to  the  sea 
coast,  whence  she  made  her  escape  into  Flanders.  She 
passed  thence  to  her  father's  court,  where  she  lived  seve- 
ral years  in  privacy  and  retirement.  Her  husband  was 
not  so  fortunate  nor  so  dexterous  in  finding  the  means  of 
escape.  Some  of  his  iriends  took  him  under  their  protec- 
tion, and  conveyed  him  into  Lancashire,  where  he  remain- 
ed concealed  during  a  year ;  but  he  was  at  last  de- 
tected, delivered  up  to  Edward,  and  thrown  into  J^; 
the  tower.  The  preservation  of  his  life  was  owing 
less  to  the  generosity  of  his  enemies  than  to  the  contempt 
which  they  had  entertained  of  his  courage  and  under- 
standing. 

The  imprisonment  of  Henry,  the  expulsion  of  Margaret, 
and  the  execution  and  confiscation  of  all  the  most  eminent 
Lancastrians,  seemed  to  give  full  security  to  Edward's 
government ;  but  the  amorous  temper  of  the  prince  led 
him  into  an  act  which  proved  fatal  to  his  repose,  and  to 
the  stability  of  his  throne.  Elizabeth  Grey,  daughter  of 
the  duchess  of  Bedford,  by  her  second  marriage  with  sir 
Richard  Woodville,  and  widow  of  sir  John  Grey,  of  Gro- 


146  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

by,  who  had  been  slain  in  the  second  battle  of  St.  Albans, 
fighting  on  the  side  of  Lancaster,  and  whose  estate  had 
been  confiscated,  seized  the  opportunity,  when  the  king 
was  on  a  visit  to  the  duchess  of  Bedford,  of  throwing  her- 
self at  his  feet,  and  entreating  his  pity  for  her  impoverish- 
ed and  distressed  children.  The  sight  of  so  much  beauty 
in  affliction  strongly  affected  Edward ;  and  he  was  redu- 
ced, in  his  turn,  to  the  posture  of  a  supplicant  at  the  feet  of 
Elizabeth.  But  the  lady  was  either  averse  to  dishonoura- 
ble love,  or  inflamed  with  ambition ;  and  the  caresses  and 
importunities  of  the  young  and  amiable  Edward  proved 
fruitless  against  her  rigid  and  inflexible  virtue.  His  pas- 
sion, increased  by  opposition,  carried  him  beyond  all 
bounds ;  and  he  offered  to  share  with  her  his  throne,  as 
well  as  his  heart.  The  marriage  was  privately  celebrated 
at  Grafton ;  and  the  secret  was  carefully  kept  for  some 
time,  from  motives  of  policy,  which  at  that  time  rendered 
this  proceeding  highly  dangerous  and  imprudent. 

The  king  had  a  little  before  cast  his  eye  on  Bona  of 
Savoy,  sister  jof  the  queen  of  France,  who,  he  hoped, 
would,  by  her  marriage,  ensure  him  the  friendship  of  that 
power,  which  was  alone  both  able  and  inclined  to  give 
support  and  assistance  to  his  rival.  To  render  the  nego- 
tiation more  successful,  the  earl  of  Warwick  had  been 
despatched  to  Paris,  where  the  princess  then  resided. 
This  nobleman  had  demanded  Bona  in  marriage  for  the 
king ;  his  proposals  had  been  accepted ;  and  nothing  re- 
mained but  the  ratification  of  the  terms  agreed  on,  and  the 
bringing  over  the  princess  to  Engknd.  But  when  the 
secret  of  Edward's  marriage  broke  out,  the  haughty  earl, 
deeming  himself  affronted,  returned  to  England,  inflamed 
with  rage  and  indignation  ;  and  an  extensive  and  dange- 
rous combination  was  insensibly  formed  against  Edward 
and  his  ministry.  A  rebellion  arose  in  Lincolnshire,  and 
was  headed  by  sir  Robert  Welles,  son  to  the  lord  of  that 
name  ;  but  the  king  defeated  the  army  of  the  rebels,  took 
their  leader  prisoner,  and  ordered  him  immediately  to 
execution. 

Edward  had  entertained  so  little  jealousy  of  the  earl  of 
Warwick  or  duke  of  Clarence,  the  king's  second  brother, 
who  had  married  the  earl's  elde'st  daughter,  that  he  sent 
them  with  commissions  of  array  to  levy  forces  against  the 
rebels;  but  these  malcontents,  as  soon  as  they  left  the 


EDWARD  IV.  147 

court,  raised  troops  in  their  own  name,  issued  declarations 
against  the  government,  and  complained  of  grievances, 
oppressions,  and  bad  ministers.  The  unexpected  defeat 
of  Welles  disconcerted  all  their  measures ;  and  they  were 
obliged  to  disband  their  army,  and  to  fly  into  Devonshire, 
whence  they  embarked  and  made  sail  towards  Calais. 

The  king  of  France,  jealous  of  the  alliance  entered  into 
between  Edward  and  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  received 
Warwick  with  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  regard,  and 
hoped  to  make  him  his  instrument  for  re-establishing  the 
house  of  Lancaster.  Margaret  being  sent  for  from  Angers, 
where  she  then  resided,  an  agreement  dictated  by  mutual 
interest  was  soon  concluded  between  them.  Edward, 
however,  foresaw  that  it  would  be  easy  to  dissolve  an  alli- 
ance composed  of  such  discordant  materials.  He  em- 
ployed a  lady  in  the  train  of  the  duchess  of  Clarence,  to 
represent  to  the  duke  that  he  had  unwarily  become  the 
instrument  of  Warwick's  vengeance,  and  had  formed  a 
connection  with  the  murderers  of  his  father,  and  the  im- 
placable enemies  of  his  family.  Clarence,  struck  with  the 
force  of  these  arguments,  on  a  promise  of  forgiveness,  se- 
cretly engaged  to  abandon  the  Lancastrian  party.  War- 
wick also  was  secretly  carrying  on  a  correspondence  of  the 
same  nature  with  his  brother,  the  marquis  of  Montague, 
who  was  entirely  trusted  by  Edward ;  and  like  motives 
produced  a  like  resolution  in  that  nobleman.  Warwick 
availed  himself  of  a  storm  to  cross  the  channel,  and,  with 
a  small  body  of  French  troops,  landed  at  Dartmouth,  ac- 
companied by  the  duke  of  Clarence,  and  the  earls  of 
Oxford  and  Pembroke. 

Edward,  though  brave  and  active,  had  little  foresight. 
He  had  made  no  preparations  for  this  event ;  and 
he  had  even  said,  that  he  wished  for  nothing  more  ^\jn 
than  to  see  Warwick  on  English  ground.     How- 
ever, the  prodigious  popularity  of  that  nobleman,  the  zeal 
of  the  Lancastrian  party,  and  the  spirit  of  discontent  with 
which  many  were  infected,  drew  such  multitudes  to  his 
standard,  that  in  a  few  days  his  army  amounted  to  sixty 
thousand  men,  and  was  continually  increasing.     Edward, 
who  had  been  employed  in  suppressing  an  insurrection 
in  the  north,  now  hastened  southward  to  encounter  him; 
and  the  two  armies  approached  each  other  near  Notting- 
ham.    The  rapidity  of  Warwick's  progress  had  incapaci- 


148  HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 

tated  the  duke  of  Clarence  from  executing  his  plan  of 
treachery ;  but  the  marquis  of  Montague,  having  commu- 
nicated the  design  to  his  adherents,  took  to  arms  in  the 
night  time,  and  hastened  with  loud  acclamations  to  Ed- 
ward's quarters.  The  king  had  just  time  to  get  on  horse- 
back, and  to  hurry  with  a  small  retinue  to  Lynn,  in  Nor- 
folk, where  finding  some  ships  ready,  he  instantly  em- 
barked. Thus,  the  earl  of  Warwick,  in  no  longer  space 
than  eleven  days  after  his  first  landing,  was  left  entire 
master  of  the  kingdom. 

Immediately  after  Edward's  flight,  Warwick  hastened 
to  London  ;  and  delivering  Henry  from  his  confinement  in 
the  tower,  he  proclaimed  him  king  with  great  solemnity ; 
and  every  thing  now  promised  a  full  settlement  of  the 
English  crown  in  the  family  of  Lancaster.  However,  Ed- 
ward being  assisted  by  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  his  brother- 
in-law,  though  in  a  covert  way,  he  set  sail  for  England ; 
and,  impatient  to  take  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  he  made 
an  attempt  to  land  with  his  forces,  which  did  not  exceed 
two  thousand  men,  on  the  coast  of  Norfolk ;  but  being 
there  repulsed,  he  sailed  northward,  and  disembarked  at 
Ravenspur,  in  Yorkshire.  Finding  that  the  new  magis- 
trates, who  had  been  appointed  by  the  earl  of  Warwick, 
kept  the  people  every  where  from  joining  him,  he  pre- 
tended, and  even  made  oath,  that  he  came  not  to  chal- 
lenge the  crown,  but  only  the  inheritance  of  the  house  of 
York,  which  of  right  belonged  to  him ;  and  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  kingdom.  His  par- 
tisans every  moment  flocked  to  his  standard  ;  he  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  city  of  York ;  and  he  was  soon  in  such  a 
situation  as  gave  him  hopes  of  succeeding  in  all  his  for* 
mer  claims  and  pretehsions.  Warwick  assembled  an  ar- 
my at  Leicester,  with  an  intention  of  meeting,  and  of  giv- 
ing battle  to  the  enemy ;  but  Edward,  by  taking  another 
road,  passed  him  unmolested,  and  presented  himself  be- 
fore the  gates  of  London.  His  numerous  friends  facili- 
tated his  admission  into  the  capital ;  and  his  entrance  into 
London  made  him  master  not  only  of  that  rich  and  pow- 
erful city,  but  also  of  the  person  of  Henry,  who,  destined 
to  be  the  perpetual  sport  of  fortune,  again  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies. 

The  king  soon  found  himself  in  a  condition  to  face  the 
earl  of  Warwick,  who,  being  reinforced  by  his  son-in-law, 


EDWARD    IV.  149 

the  duke  of  Clarence,  and  his  brother,  the  marquis  of  Mon- 
tague, took  post  at  Barnet,  in  the  vicinity  of  London. 
His  brother  Montague  seems  to  have  remained  attached 
to  the  interests  of  his  family  ;  but  his  son-in-law,  though 
bound  to  him  by  every  tie  of  honour  and  gratitude,  re- 
solved to  fulfil  the  secret  engagements  which  he  had  for- 
merly taken  with  his  brother,  and  deserted  to  the  king  in 
the  night  time,  carrying  over  a  body  of  twelve  thousand 
men  along  with  him.  Warwick  was  now  too  far  advanced 
to  retreat ;  and  as  he  rejected  with  disdain  all  terms  of 
accommodation  offered  him  by  Edward  and  Clarence,  he 
was  obliged  to  hazard  a  general  engagement.  The 
battle  was  fought  with  obstinacy  on  both  sides;  *am[ 
and  the  victory  remained  long  undecided  between 
them.  But  an  accident  threw  the  balance  on  the  side  of 
the  Yorkists.  Warwick  engaged  that  day  on  fopt,  and 
was  slain  in  the  thickest  of  the  engagement ;  his  brother 
underwent  the  same  fate ;  and  as  Edward  had  issued  or- 
ders not  to  give  any  quarter,  a  great  and  undistinguished 
slaughter  was  made  in  the  pursuit. 

The  same  day  on  which  this  decisive  battle  was  fought, 
queen  Margaret  and  her  son,  now  about  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  a  young  prince  of  great  hopes,  landed  at 
Weymouth,  supported  by  a  small  body  of  French  forces. 
She  advanced  through  the  counties  of  Devon,  Somerset, 
and  Gloucester,  increasing  her  army  on  each  day's  march; 
but  was  at  last  overtaken  by  the  rapid  and  expeditious 
Edward  at  Tewkesbury,  on  the  banks  of  the  Severn.  The 
Lancastrians  were  here  totally  defeated;  and  the  army 
was  entirely  dispersed. 

Queen  Margaret  and  her  son  were  taken  prisoners,  and 
brought  to  the  king,  who  asked  the  prince,  after  an  insult- 
ing manner,  how  he  dared  to  invade  his  dominions  ?  The 
young  prince,  more  mindful  of  his  high  birth  than  of  his 
present  fortune,  replied,  that  he  came  thither  to  claim  his 
just  inheritance.  The  ungenerous  Edward,  insensible  to 
pity,  struck  him  on  the  face  with  his  guantlet ;  and  the 
dukes  of  Clarence  and  Gloucester,  lord  Hastings,  and  sir 
Thomas  Gray,  taking  the  blow  as  a  signal  for  further  vio- 
lence, hurried  the  prince  into  the  next  apartment,  and 
there  despatched  him  with  their  daggers.  Margaret  was 
thrown  into  the  Tower :  king  Henry  died  in  that  confine- 
ment a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Tewkesbury ;  but  wke- 
13* 


150  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

ther  he  died  a  natural  or  a  violent  death  is  uncertain.  It 
is  pretended,  and  was  generally  believed,  that  the  duke  of 
Gloucester  killed  him  with  his  own  hands ;  but  the  uni- 
versal odium  which  that  prince  has  incurred,  inclined, 
perhaps,  the  nation  to  aggravate  his  crimes  without  any 
sufficient  authority. 

All  the  hopes  of  the  house  of  Lancaster  seemed  now 
utterly  extinguished ;  and  Edward  was  firmly  established 
on  the  throne  of  England.  This  prince  was  active  and  in- 
trepid in  adversity,  but  unable  to  resist  the  allurements  of 
prosperity.  He  now  devoted  himself  to  pleasure  and 
amusement ;  but  he  was  roused  from  his  lethargy  by  the 
prospect  of  foreign  conquests.  He  formed  a  league  with 
the  duke  of  Burgundy  to  invade  France ;  and  for  this 
purpose,  the  parliament  voted  him  a  tenth  of  rents,  or  two 
shillings  in  the  pound,  which  produced  only  £31,460; 
and  they  added  to  this  supply  a  whole  fifteenth,  and  three 
quarters  of  another ;  but  as  the  king  deemed  these  sums 
still  unequal  to  the  undertaking,  he  attempted  to  levy 
money  by  way  of  benevolence ;  a  kind  of  exaction  which, 
except  during  the  reigns  of  Henry  the  Third  and  Richard 
the  Second,  had  not  been  much  practised  in  former  times, 
and  which,  though  the  consent  of  the  parties  were  pre- 
tended to  be  gained,  could  not  be  deemed  entirely  vo 
luntary. 

The  king  passed  over  to  Calais  with  an  army  of  fifteen 

hundred  men  at  arms,  and  fifteen  thousand  archers ; 
i'ajz  but  all  his  hopes  of  conquest  were  damped,  when 

he  found  that  the  constable  St.  Pol,  who  had  se- 
cretly promised  to  join  him,  did  not  receive  him  into  the 
towns  of  which  he  was  master,  nor  the  duke  of  Burgundy 
bring  him  the  smallest  assistance.  This  circumstance 
gave  great  disgust  to  the  king,  and  inclined  him  to  hearken 
to  the  pacific  overtures  of  Lewis,  who  consented  to  pay 
Edward  immediately  seventy-five  thousand  crowns,  on 
condition  that  he  should  withdraw  his  army  from  France, 
and  promised  to  pay  him  fifty  thousand  crowns  a  year 
during  their  joint  lives.  It  was  farther  stipulated,  that  the 
dauphin,  when  of  age,  should  marry  Edward's  eldest  daugh- 
ter. The  articles  of  this  treaty  were  ratified  in  a  personal 
interview  which  the  two  monarchs  had  at  Pacquigni,  near 
Amiens.  This  treaty  was  little  honourable  to  either  of 
these  monarchs ;  it  discovered  the  imprudence  of  Edward, 


EDWARD  IV.  151 

and  the  want  of  dignity  in  Lewis,  who,  rather  than  hazard 
a  battle,  agreed  to  subject  his  kingdom  to  a  tribute.  The 
most  honourable  part  of  it  was  the  stipulation  for  the  liberty 
of  queen  Margaret,  who,  though  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band and  son,  she  could  no  longer  be  formidable  to 
government,  was  still  detained  in  custody  by  Edward. 
Lewis  paid  fifty  thousand  crowns  for  her  ransom  ;  and 
that  princess,  who  had  been  so  active  on  the  stage  of  the 
world,  and  who  had  experienced  such  a  variety  of  fortune, 
passed  the  remainder  of  her  days  in  tranquility  and  pri- 
vacy, till  the  year  1482,  when  she  died. 

Edward  abandoned  himself  entirely  to  indolence  and 
pleasure,  which  were  now  become  his  ruling  passions ;  but 
an  act  of  tyranny,  of  which  he  was  guilty  in  his  own  fami- 
ly, has  ,  met  with  general  and  deserved  censure.  The  duke 
of  Clarence,  after  all  his  services  in  deserting  Warwick, 
had  never  been  able  to  regain  the  king's  friendship.  He 
was  also  an  object  of  displeasure  to  the  queen,  as  well  as 
to  his  brother,  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  a  prince  of  the  deep- 
est policy,  and  the  most  unrelenting  ambition.  A  combi- 
nation between  these  potent  adversaries  being  secretly 
formed  against  Clarence,  it  was  determined  to  begin  by  at- 
tacking his  friends,  of  whom  several  were  put  to  death  for 
the  most  trivial  offences.  Clarence,  instead  of  securing 
his  own  life  by  silence  and  reserve,  was  open  and  loud  in 
exclaiming  against  the  iniquity  of  their  persecutors.  The 
king  highly  offended  with  his  freedom,  or  using  that  pre- 
tence against  him,  committed  him  to  the  tower,  summoned 
a  parliament,  and  tried  him  for  his  life  before  the  house  of 
peers,  on  charges  the  most  frivolous  and  futile.  A  sen- 
tence of  condemnation,  however,  was  a  necessary  conse- 
quence in  those  times,  of  any  prosecution  by  the  court  or 
the  prevailing  party  ;  and  the  duke  of  Clarence  was  pro- 
nounced guilty  by  the  peers.  The  house  of  commons  were 
no  less  slavish  and  unjust :  they  both  petitioned  for  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  duke,  and  afterwards  passed  a  bill  of  attain- 
der against  him.  The  only  favour  which  the  king  granted 
his  brother,  after  his  condemnation,  was  to  leave  him  the 
choice  of  his  death ;  and  he  was  privately  drowned  in  a 
butt  of  malmsey  in  the  tower ;  a  whimsical  choice,  which 
implies  that  he  had  an  extraordinary  passion  for  that  liquor. 

All  the  energies  of  Edward's  reign  seem  to  have  termi- 
nated with  the  civil  wars  :  his  spirit  afterwards  sunk  into 


152  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

indolence  and  pleasure.  Whilst,  however,  he  was  making 
preparations  for  a  war  against  France,  he  was  seized  with 
a  distemper  of  which  he  died  in  the  forty-second  year  of 
his  age,  and  the  twenty-third  of  his  reign.  Besides  five 
daughters,  Edward  left  two  sons ;  Edward,  prince  of  Wales, 
his  successor,  then  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  Richard, 
duke  of  York,  in  his  ninth. 

The  king,  on  his  death-bed,  had  entrusted  the  regency 
to  his  brother,  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  then  absent  in  the 
north;  and  he  recommended  to  the  rival  nobles 
148S  peace  and  unanimity  during  the  tender  years  of  his 
son.     But  he  had  no  sooner  expired,  than  the  jea- 
lousies of  the  parties  broke  out ;  and  each  of  them  endea- 
voured to  obtain  the  favour  of  the  duke  of  Gloucester. 

This  prince,  whose  unbounded  ambition  led  him  to  car- 
ry his  views  to  the  possession  of  the  crown  itself,  prevailed 
on  the  queen,  by  profession  of  zeal  and  attachment,  to 
countermand  the  order  which  she  had  issued  to  her  brother, 
the  earl  of  Rivers,  to  levy  a  body  of  forces,  and  to  direct 
him  to  bring  up  the  young  king  from  Ludlow  to  London, 
with  only  his  ordinary  retinue.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
duke  of  Gloucester  set  out  from  York,  attended  by  a  nu- 
merous train  of  the  northern  gentry.  When  he  reached 
Northampton,  he  was  joined  by  the  duke  of  Buckingham, 
who  was  also  attended  by  a  splendid  retinue  ;  and  after 
being  met  by  the  earl  of  Rivers,  who  had  sent  his  pupil 
forward  to  Stony  Stratford,  they  all  proceeded  on  the  road 
the  next  day  to  the  king  ;  but  as  they  entered  Stony  Strat- 
ford, the  earl  of  Rivers  was  arrested  by  orders  from  the 
duke  of  Gloucester,  together  with  sir  Richard  Grey,  one 
of  the  queen's  sons,  and  instantly  conducted  to  Pomfret. 

On  intelligence  of  her  brother's  imprisonment,  the  queen 
fled  into  the  sanctuary  of  Westminster,  attended  by  the 
marquis  of  Dorset ;  and  she  carried  thither  the  five  prin- 
cesses, together  with  the  duke  of  York.  But  Gloucester, 
anxious  to  have  the  duke  of  York  also  in  his  power,  em- 
ployed the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  who, 
duped  by  the  villain's  artifice  and  dissimulation,  prevailed 
on  the  queen  to  deliver  up  the  prince,  that  he  might  be 
present  at  the  coronation  of  his  brother. 

The  council,  without  waiting  for  the  consent  of  parlia- 
ment, had  already  invested  the  duke  of  Gloucester  with 
the  high  dignity  of  protector ;  and  having  so  far  succeeded 


EDWARD  IV.  153 

in  his  views,  he  no  longer  hesitated  in  removing  the  other 
obstructions  which  lay  between  him  and  the  throne.  The 
death  of  the  earl  of  Rivers,  and  of  the  other  prisoners  de- 
tained in  Pomfret,  was  first  determined ;  and  he  easily 
obtained  the  consent  of  the  duke  of  Buckingham,  as  well 
as  of  lord  Hastings,  to  this  violent  and  sanguinary  mea- 
sure, which  was  promptly  executed. 

The  protector  then  assailed  the  fidelity  of  Buckingham, 
by  specious  arguments,  and  offers  of  great  private  advan- 
tages, and  obtained  from  him  a  promise  of  supporting  him 
in  all  his  enterprises.  ^Knowing  the  importance  of  gain- 
ing lord  Hastings,  he  sounded  him  at  a  distance ;  but 
finding  him  impregnable  in  his  allegiance  and  fidelity  to 
the  children  of  Edward,  he  determined  on  his  destruction. 
Having  summoned  a  council  in  the  tower,  whither  that 
nobleman,  suspecting  no  design  against  him,  repaired 
without  hesitation,  the  protector  asked  them,  what  pun- 
ishment those  deserved  that  had  plotted  against  his  life, 
who  was  so  nearly  related  to  the  king,  and  was  entrusted 
with  the  administration  of  government  ]  Hastings  replied, 
that  they  merited  the  punishment  of  traitors.  "  These 
traitors,"  cried  the  protector,  "  are  the  sorcerers,  my  bro- 
ther's wife,  and  Jane  Shore,  his  mistress,  with  others, 
their  associates :  see  to  what  a  condition  they  have  redu- 
ced me,  by  their  incantations  and  witchcraft ;"  upon  which 
he  laid  bare  his  arm,  all  shrivelled  and  decayed.  The 
counsellors,  who  knew  that  this  infirmity  had  attended  him 
from  his  birth,  looked  on  each  other  with  amazement; 
and  above  all,  lord  Hastings,  who,  as  he  had  since  Ed- 
ward's death  engaged  in  an  intrigue  with  Jane  Shore, 
was  naturally  anxious  concerning  the  issue  of  these  extra- 
ordinary proceedings.  "  Certainly,  my  lord,"  said  he,  "  if 
they  be  guilty  of  these  crimes,  they  deserve  the  severest 
punishment."  "  And  do  you  reply  to  me,"  exclaimed  the 
protector,  "  with  your  ifs  and  your  ands  ?  You  are  the 
chief  abettor  of  that  witch  Shore  ;  you  are  yourself  a  trai- 
tor ;  and  I  swear  by  St.  Paul,  that  I  will  not  dine  before 
your  head  be  brought  me."  He  struck  the  table  with  his 
hand  :  armed  men  rushed  in  at  the  signal :  the  counsellors 
were  thrown  into  the  utmost  consternation  ;  and  Hastings 
being  seized,  was  hurried  away,  and  instantly  beheaded 
on  a  timber  log,  which  lay  in  the  court  of  the  tower. 

After  the  murder  of  Hastings,  the  protector  no  longei 


154  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

made  a  secret  of  his  intention  to  usurp  the  crown.  A 
report  was  industriously  circulated,  that  Edward,  before 
espousing  the  lady  Elizabeth  Grey,  had  been  privately 
married  to  the  lady  Eleanor  Talbot,  and  that  consequently 
the  offspring  of  the  last  marriage  were  illegitimate.  In  an 
assembly  of  the  citizens,  convoked  for  the  purpose,  the 
duke  of  Buckingham  harangued  the  people  on  the  protec- 
tor's title  to  the  crown  ;  when,  after  several  useless  efforts, 
some  of  the  meanest  apprentices  raised  a  feeble  cry  of 
"  God  save  king  Richard  !"  This  was  deemed  sufficient ; 
and  the  crown  was  formally  tendered  to  Richard,  who  pre- 
tended to  refuse  it,  but  was  at  length  prevailed  on  to  ac- 
cept the  offer.  This  ridiculous  farce  was  soon  after  fol- 
lowed by  a  scene  truly  tragical :  the  murder  of  the  two 
young  princes,  who  were  smothered  by  hired  ruffians  in 
the  tower,  and  whose  bodies  were  buried  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  deep  in  the  ground,  under  a  heap  of  stones.* 


CHAP.  IX. 

The  reigns  of  Richard  III.  and  Henry  VII. 

The  first  acts  of  Richard  were  to  bestow  rewards  on 
tliose  who  had  assisted  him  in  usurping  the  crown ;  but 
the  person  who,  from  the  greatness  of  his  services,  was 
best  entitled  to  favours  under  the  new  government,  was 
the  duke  of  Buckingham ;  and  Richard  seemed  deter- 
mined to  spare  no  pains  or  bounty  in  securing  him  to  his 
interests.  That  nobleman  was  invested  with  the  office  of 
constable,  and  received  a  grant  of  the  forfeited  estate  of 
Bohun,  earl  of  Hereford.  It  was,  however,  impossible 
that  friendship  could  long  remain  inviolate  between  two 
men  of  such  corrupt  minds  as  Richard  and  the  duke  of 
Buckingham.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  duke,  soon  after 
Richard's  accession,  began  to  form  a  conspiracy  against 
the  government. 

By  the  exhortations  of  Morton,  bishop  of  Ely,  a  zealous 
Lancastrian,  the  duke  cast  his  eye  toward  the  young  earl 
of  Richmond,  as  the  only  person  capable  of  opposing  an 

*  In  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  the  bones  of  two  persons  were  found, 
in  the  place  above  mentioned,  which  exactly  corresponded  by  their 
size  to  the  ages  of  Edward  V.  and  his  brother ;  and  being  considered 
as  the  undoubted  remains  of  these  princes,  they  were  deposited  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  under  a  marble  tomb. 


Edward  the  Fourth  and  Elizabeth  Woodville. 


Murder  of  the  Princes  in  the  Tower. 


RICHARD  III.  lo£> 

usurper,  whose  murder  of  the  young  princes  had  rendered 
him  the  object  of  general  detestation.  Henry,  earl  of 
Richmond,  was  at  this  time  detained  in  a  kind  of  honour- 
able custody  by  the  duke  of  Brittany ;  and  his  descent, 
which  seemed  to  give  him  some  pretensions  to  the  crown, 
had  been  for  some  time  a  great  object  of  jealousy.  He 
was  descended  from  John  of  Gaunt,  and  was  nearly  allied 
to  Henry  VI. 

As  all  the  descendants  of  the  house  of  York  were  now 
either  women  or  minors,  it  was  suggested  by  Morton,  that 
the  only  means  of  overturning  the  present  usurpation  was 
to  unite  the  opposite  factions,  by  contracting  a  marriage 
between  the  earl  of  Richmond  and  the  princess  Elizabeth, 
eldest  daughter  of  Edward  IV. ;  and  the  queen  dowager, 
finding  in  this  proposal  the  probable  means  of  revenge  for 
the  murder  of  her  brother  and  her  three  sons,  gave  her 
approbation  to  the  project.  But  this  conspiracy  could  not 
escape  the  jealous  and  vigilant  eye  of  Richard ;  he  imme- 
diately levied  troops,  and  summoning  Buckingham  to  ap- 
pear at  court,  that  nobleman  replied  only  by  taking  arms 
in  Wales.  At  that  very  time,  however,  there  happened  to 
fall  such  heavy  rains,  so  incessant  and  continued,  as  ex- 
ceeded any  known  in  the  memory  of  man ;  and  the  Severn, 
with  the  other  rivers  in  that  neighbourhood,  swelled  to  a 
height  which  rendered  them  impassable,  and  prevented 
Buckingham  from  marching  into  the  heart  of  England  to 
join  his  associates.  The  Welshmen,  partly  moved  by  su- 
perstition at  this  extraordinary  event,  partly  distressed  by 
famine  in  their  camp,  fell  off  from  him ;  and  Bucking- 
ham, finding  himself  deserted  by  his  followers,  put  on  a 
disguise,  and  took  shelter  in  the  house  of  Bannister,  an 
old  servant  of  his  family.  But  being  detected  in  his  re- 
treat, he  was  brought  to  the  king  at  Salisbury,  and  was 
instantly  executed. 

The  king,  fortified  by  this  unsuccessful  attempt  to  de- 
throne him,  ventured  at  last  to  summon  a  parlia- 
ment, in  which  his  right  to  the  crown  was  acknow-  ^\&1 
ledged  ;  and  his  only  son  Edward,  then  a  youth  of 
twelve  years  of  age,  was  cremated  prince  of  Wales.     To 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  Yorkists,  he  paid  court  to  the 
queen  dowager,  who  ventured  to  leave  her  sanctuary,  and 
to  put  herself  and  her  daughters  into  the  hands  of  the  ty- 
rant.    But  he  soon  carried  farther  his  views  for  the  estab- 


156  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

lishment  of  his  throne.  He  had  married  Anne,  the  second 
daughter  of  the  earl  of  Warwick,  and  widow  of  Edward, 
prince  of  Wales,  whom  Richard  himself  had  murdered ; 
but  this  princess  having  borne  him  but  one  son,  who  died 
about  this  time,  he  considered  her  as  an  invincible  obsta- 
cle to  the  settlement  of  his  fortune,  and  he  was  believed  to 
have  carried  her  oft'  by  poison ;  a  crime  which  the  usual 
tenor  of  his  conduct  made  it  reasonable  to  suspect.  He 
now  thought  it  in  his  power  to  remove  the  chief  perils 
which  threatened  his  government.  The  earl  of  Richmond, 
he  knew,  could  never  be  formidable  but  from  his  projected 
marriage  with  the  princess  Elizabeth,  the  true  heir  of  the 
crown ;  and  he  therefore  intended,  by  means  of  a  papal 
dispensation,  to  espouse,  himself,  this  princess,  and  thus 
to  unite  in  his  own  family  their  contending  titles.  The 
queen  dowager,  eager  to  recover  her  lost  authority,  neither 
scrupled  this  alliance,  nor  felt  any  horror  at  marrying  her 
daughter  to  the  murderer  of  her  three  sons  and  of  her 
brother.  She  even  joined  so  far  her  interests  with  those 
of  the  usurper,  that  she  wrote  to  all  her  partisans,  and 
among  the  rest,  to  her  son  the  marquis  of  Dorset,  desiring 
them  to  withdraw  from  the  earl  of  Richmond ;  an  injury 
which  the  earl  could  never  afterwards  forgive.  The  court 
of  Rome  was  applied  to  for  a  dispensation ;  and  Richard 
thought  that  he  could  easily  defend  himself  during  the 
interval  till  it  arrived,  when  he  had  the  prospect  of  a  full 
and  secure  settlement. 

But  the  crimes  of  Richard  were  so  shocking  to  huma- 
nity, that  every  person  of  probity  and  honour  was  earnest 
to  prevent  the  sceptre  from  being  any  longer  polluted  by 
his  bloody  and  faithless  hand.  All  the  exiles  flocked  to 
the  earl  of  Richmond,  in  Brittany,  who,  dreading  treache- 
ry, made  his  escape  to  the  court  of  France.  The  minis- 
ters of  Charles  VIII.  gave  him  assistance  and  protection ; 
and  he  sailed  from  Harfleur,  in  Normandy,  with  a  small 
army  of  about  two  thousand  men,  and  landed  without  op 
position  at  Milford-haven,  in  Wales. 

But  the  danger  to  which  Richard  was  chiefly  exposed 
proceeded  not  so  much  from  the  zeal  of  his  open  enemies 
as  from  the  infidelity  of  his  pretended  friends.  Excepi 
the  duke  of  Norfolk,  scarcely  any  nobleman  was  attached 
to  his  cause  ;  but  the  persons  of  whom  he  entertained  the 
greatest  suspicion,  were  lord  Stanley,  and  his  brother,  sir 


I 


RICHARD    HI.  157 

William.  When  he  employed  lord  Stanley  to  levy  forces, 
he  still  retained  his  eldest  son,  lord  Strange,  as  a  pledge 
for  his  fidelity ;  and  that  nobleman  was,  on  this  account, 
obliged  to  employ  great  caution  and  reserve  in  his  proceed- 
ings. He  raised  a  powerful  body  of  his  friends  and  re- 
tainers in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  but  without  openly 
declaring  himself;  and  though  Henry  had  received  secret 
assurances  of  his  friendly  intentions,  the  armies  on  both 
sides  knew  not  what  to  infer  from  his  equivocal  behaviour. 

The  two  rivals  at  last  approached  each  other  at  Bos- 
worth,  hear  Leicester ;  Henry,  at  the  head  of  six  thousand 
men,  Richard  with  an  army  of  above  double  that  number. 
Stanley,  who  commanded  above  seven  thousand  men,  took 
care  to  post  himself  at  Atherstone,  not  far  from  the  hostile 
camps ;  and  he  made  such  a  disposition  as  enabled  him  on 
occasion  to  join  either  party.  Soon  after  the  battle  began, 
lord  Stanley,  whose  conduct  in  this  whole  affair  discovers 
great  precaution  and  abilities,  appeared  in  the  field,  and  de- 
clared for  the  earl  of  Richmond.  The  intrepid  tyrant, 
sensible  of  his  desperate  situation,  cast  his  eye  around  thev 
field,  and  descrying  his  rival  at  no  great  distance,  he  drove 
against  him  with  fury,  in  hopes  that  either  Henry's  death 
or  his  own  would  decide  the  victory  between  them.  He 
killed  with  his  own  hands  sir  William  Bradon,  standard^ 
bearer  to  the  earl ;  he  dismounted  sir  John  Cheyney ;  he 
was  now  within  reach  of  Richmond  himself,  who  declined 
not  the  combat ;  when  sir  William  Stanley,  break- 
ing in  with  his  troops,  surrounded  Richard,  who  ,  \«  J 
fighting  bravely,  to  the  last  moment,  was  over- 
whelmed by  numbers,  and  perished  by  a  fate  too  mild  and 
honourable  for  his  multiplied  and  detestable  enormities. 
His  men  every  where  sought  for  safety  by  flight. 

There  fell  in  this  battle  about  four  thousand  of  the  van- 
quished ;  and  among  these  the  duke  of  Norfolk,  lord  Fer- 
rars  of  Chartley,  and  several  other  persons  of  high  rank. 
The  loss  was  inconsiderable  on  the  side  of  the  victors, 
The  body  of  Richard  was  found  in  the  field  covered  with 
dead  enemies,  and  all  besmeared  with  blood ;  it  was  thrown 
carelessly  across  a  horse,  carried  to  Leicester  amidst  the 
shouts  of  the  insulting  spectators,  and  interred  in  the 
Grey-Friars  church  of  that  place.  All  historians  agree, 
that  Richard  was  ready  to  commit  the  most  horrid  crimes 
which  appeared  necessary  for  his  purposes  ;  and  it  is  cer- 
14 


158  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

tain,  that  all  his  courage  and  capacity,  qualities  in  which 
he  really  seems  not  to  have  been  deficient,  would  never 
have  made  compensation  to  the  people  for  the  danger  of 
the  precedent,  and  for  the  contagious  example  of  vice  and 
murder,  exalted  upon  the  throne.  This  prince  was  of  a 
small  stature,  hump-backed,  and  had  a  harsh,  disagreeable 
countenance  ;  so  that  his  body  was  in  every  particular  no 
less  deformed  than  his  mind. 

The  victory  at  Bosworth  was  entirely  decisive  ;  and  the 
earl  of  Richmond  was  immediately  saluted  with  acclama- 
tions of  "  Long  live  Henry  the  Seventh  !"  He  accepted 
the  title  without  hesitation  :  and  asserting  his  claim  to  the 
throne  as  heir  to  the  house  of  Lancaster,  he  determined 
never  to  allow  it  to  be  discussed.  Though  bound  by 
honour  as  well  as  by  interest  to  complete  his  alliance 
with  the  princess  Elizabeth,  yet  he  resolved  to  postpone 
the  nuptials  till  after  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation,  lest 
a  preceding  marriage  with  the  princess  should  imply  a 
participation  of  sovereignty  in  her,  and  raise  doubts  of 
his  own  title  by  the  house  of  Lancaster.  In  order  to 
heighten  the  splendour  of  the  coronation,  he  bestowed  the 
rank  of  knight-banneret  on  twelve  persons  ;  and  he  con- 
ferred peerage  on  three.  Jasper,  earl  of  Pembroke,  his 
uncle,  was  created  duke  of  Bedford ;  Thomas,  lord  Stanley, 
his  father-in-law,  earl  of  Derby ;  and  Edward  Courtney, 
earl  of  Devonshire.  At  the  coronation,  likewise,  there 
appeared  a  new  institution,  which  the  king  had  established 
I  for  security  as  well  as  pomp,  a  band  of  fifty  archers,  who 
J  were  termed  yeomen  of  the  guard.  But  lest  the  people 
should  take  umbrage  at  this  unusual  symptom  of  jealousy 
in  the  prince,  as  if  it  implied  a  personal  diffidence  of  his 
subjects,  he  declared  the  institution  to  be  perpetual.  The 
parliament  assembled  at  Westminster,  and  proceeded  to 
settle  the  entail  of  the  crown.  No  mention  was  made  of 
the  princess  Elizabeth :  it  was  voted,  "  that  the  inheritance 
of  the  crown  should  rest,  remain,  and  abide  in  the  king;" 
and  "  that  the  succession  should  be  secured  to  the  heirs 
of  his  body  ;"  but  Henry  pretended  not,  in  case  of  their 
failure,  to  exclude  the  house  of  York,  or  give  the  prefe- 
rence to  that  of  Lancaster. 

The  parliament  had  petitioned  to  the  king  to  espouse 
the  princess  Elizabeth,  under  the  pretence  of  their  desire 
to  have  heirs  of  his  body ;  and  he  now  thought  in  earnest 


i 


HENRY   VII.  159 

of  satisfying  the  minds  of  his  people  in  that  particular. 
His  marriage  was  celebrated  at  London,  and  that  with 
greater  appearance  of  universal  joy  than  either  his  first 
entry  or  his  coronation.  Henry  remarked  with  much  dis- 
pleasure this  general  favour  borne  to  the  house  of  York. 
The  suspicions  which  arose  from  it  not  only  disturbed  his 
tranquility  during  his  whole  reign,  but  bred  disgust  to- 
wards his  consort  herself,  and  poisoned  all  his  domestic 
enjoyments.  Though  virtuous,  amiable,  and  obsequious 
to  the  last  degree,  she  never  met  with  a  proper  return  of 
affection,  or  even  of  complaisance,  from  her  husband  ; 
and  the  malignant  ideas  of  faction  still  in  his  sullen  mind, 
prevailed  over  all  the  sentiments  of  conjugal  endearment. 
The  king  now  resolved  to  make  a  progress  into  the 
north,  where  the  friends  of  the  house  of  York,  and  even 
the  partisans  of  Richard,  were  numerous,  in  hopes  of 
curing  by  his  presence  and  conversation  the  prejudices  of 
the  malcontents.  When  he  arrived  at  Nottingham,  he 
heard  that  viscount  Lovel,  with  sir  Humphrey  Stafford, 
and  Thomas,  his  brother,  had  secretly  withdrawn  them- 
selves from  their  sanctuary  at  Colchester;  but  this  news 
appeared  not  to  him  of  such  importance  as  to  stop  his  jour- 
ney ;  and  he  proceeded  forward  to  York.  He  there  heard 
that  the  Staffords  had  levied  an  army,  and  were  marching 
to  besiege  the  city  of  Worcester ;  and  that  Lovel,  at  the 
head  of  three  or  four  thousand  men,  was  approaching  to 
attack  him  in  York.  Henry  was  not  dismayed  with  this 
intelligence.  His  active  courage,  full  of  resources,  imme- 
diately prompted  him  to  find  the  proper  remedy.  Though 
surrounded  with  enemies  in  these  disaffected  counties,  he 
assembled  a  small  body  of  troops  in  whom  he  could  confide ; 
and  having  joined  to  them  all  his  own  attendants,  he  put 
them  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of  Bedford,  who 
published  a  general  promise  of  pardon  to  the  rebels.  This 
had  a  greater  effect  on  their  leader  than  on  his  followers. 
Lovel,  who  had  undertaken  an  enterprise  that  exceeded 
his  courage  and  capacity,  was  so  terrified  with  the  fear  of 
desertion  among  his  troops,  that  he  suddenly  withdrew 
himself,  and  after  lurking  some  time  in  Lancashire,  he 
made  his  escape  into  Flanders,  where  he  was  protected  by 
the  duchess  of  Burgundy.  His  army  submitted  to  the 
king's  clemency ;  and  the  other  rebels,  hearing  of  this 
success,  raised  the  siege  of  Worcester,  and  dispersed  them" 


160  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

selves.  The  Staffords  took  sanctuary  in  the  church  of 
Colnham,  near  Abingdon ;  but  being  taken  thence,  the 
elder  was  executed  at  Tyburn,  and  the  younger  obtained 
a  pardon. 

Henry's  joy  for  this  success  was  followed,  some  time 
after,  by  the  birth  of  a  prince,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name 
of  Arthur,  in  memory  of  the  famous  British  king  of  that 
name,  from  whom  it  was  pretended  the  family  of  Tudor 
derived  its  descent.  But  his  government  had  become  in 
general  unpopular;  and  the  source  of  public  discontent 
arose  chiefly  from  his  prejudices  against  the  house  of  York. 

There  lived  in  Oxford  one  Richard  Simon,  a  priest  of 
a  subtle  and  enterprising  genius.  This  man  had  enter- 
tained the  design  of  disturbing  Henry's  govern- 
,  \qA  ment,  by  raising  a  pretender  to  his  crown ;  and  for 
that  purpose  he  cast  his  eyes  on  Lambert  Simnel, 
a  youth  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  the  son  of  a  baker,  who 
was  endowed  with  understanding  above  his  years,  and  ad- 
dress above  his  condition.  Him,  Simon  instructed  to  per- 
sonate the  earl  of  Warwick,  son  of  the  duke  of  Clarence, 
who  had  been  confined  in  the  tower  since  the  commence- 
ment of  this  reign ;  and  the  queen  dowager,  finding  her- 
self fallen  into  absolute  insignificance,  and  her  daughter 
treated  with  severity,  was  suspected  of  countenancing  the 
imposture. 

In  Ireland  the  scene  of  it  first  was  opened.  No  sooner 
did  Simnel  present  himself  to  Kildare,  the  deputy,  and 
claim  his  protection  as  the  unfortunate  Warwick,  than 
that  credulous  nobleman  acknowledged  him ;  the  people 
of  Dublin  tendered  their  allegiance  to  him,  as  to  the  true 
Plantagenet ;  and  the  whole  island  followed  the  example 
of  the  capital. 

Henry,  perplexed  by  the  news  of  this  revolt,  first  seized 
the  queen  dowager,  whom  he  confined  in  the  nunnery  of 
Bermondsey,  where  she  ended  her  life  in  poverty  and  soli- 
tude. He  next  exposed  Warwick  through  the  streets  of 
London ;  but  though  this  measure  had  its  effect  in  Eng- 
land, the  people  of  Ireland  retorted  on  the  king  the  re- 
proach of  having  shown  a  counterfeit  personage. 

Henry  had  soon  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  design 
against  him  was  not  laid  on  slight  foundations.  John, 
earl  of  Lincoln,  son  of  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  and  of  Eliza- 
beth, eldest  sister  of  Edward  IV.,  was  engaged  to  take 


HENRY  VII.  161 

part  in  the  conspiracy ;  and  having  established  a  secret 
correspondence  in  Lancashire,  he  retired  to  Flanders, 
where  Lovel  had  arrived  a  little  before  him  ;  and  he  lived 
in  the  court  of  his  aunt,  the  duchess  of  Burgundy. 

That  princess,  the  widow  of  Charles  the  Bold,  after 
consulting  with  Lincoln  and  Lovel,. hired  a  body  of  two 
thousand  veteran  Germans,  under  the  command  of  Martin 
Swart,  a  brave  and  experienced  officer;  and  sent  them 
over,  together  with  these  two  noblemen,  to  join  Simnel  in 
Ireland.  The  countenance  given  by  persons  of  such  high 
rank,  and  the  accession  of  this  military  force,  much  raised 
the  courage  of  the  Irish,  and  made  them  entertain  the  re- 
solution of  invading  England,  as  well  from  the  hopes  of 
plunder  as  of  revenge. 

Being  informed  that  Simnel  was  landed  at  Foudrey,  in 
Lancashire,  Henry  drew  together  his  forces,  and  advanced 
towards  the  enemy  as  far  as  Coventry.  The  rebels  had 
entertained  hopes  that  the  disaffected  counties  in  the  north 
would  rise  in  their  favour;  but  the  people  in  general, 
averse  to  join  Irish  and  German  invaders,  convinced  of 
Lambert's  imposture,  and  kept  in  awe  by  the  king's  repu- 
tation for  success  and  conduct,  either  remained  in  tran- 
quility, or  gave  assistance  to  the  royal  army.  The  hostile 
armies  met  at  Stoke,  in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  and 
fought  a  battle,  which  was  bloody  and  obstinately  dis- 
puted. The  king's  victory  was  purchased  with  loss,  but 
was  entirely  decisive.  Lincoln,  Broughton,  and  Swart, 
perished  in  the  field  of  battle,  with  four  thousand 
of  their  followers ;  and  as  Lovel  was  never  more  1409 
heard  of,  he  was  believed  to  have  undergone  the 
same  fate.*     Simnel,  with  his  tutor  Simon,  was  taken 

*  Doctor  Mavor,  in  his  History  of  England,  gives  the  following 
probable  account  of  the  death  of  this  distinguished  nobleman,  on  the 
authority  of  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Warton,  who  received  his  infor- 
mation, as  well  as  could  be  recollected,  from  Dr.  Dennison,  a  wit- 
ness of  what  is  related  : — "  The  walls  of  this  nobleman's  once  magni- 
ficent seat  at  Minster  Lovel,  Oxfordshire,  of  which  some  ruins  still 
remain,  being  pulled  down  for  the  sake  of  the  materials,  early  in  the 
last  century,  a  secret  chamber  was  discovered  with  a  trap-door,  and 
in  it  a  skeleton  of  a  person  in  complete  armour  was  found.  From 
hence  :t  was  supposed,  and  on  probable  grounds,  that  this  was  the 
body  of  lord  Lovel,  who,  after  escaping  from  the  battle  of  Stoke, 
took  refuge  in  this  place,  and  from  some  cause,  not  now  to  be  ac- 
counted for,  was  left  to  perish  in  his  concealment." 

14* 


162  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

prisoner.     Simon,  being  a  priest,  was  only  committed  tt 
close  custody;  and  Simnel,  being  too  contemptible  v  b\ 
an  object  either  of  apprehension  or  resentment,  was  ^ar 
doned,  and  made  a  scullion  in  the  king's  kitchen  ;  whence 
he  was  afterwards  advanced  to  the  rank  of  a  falconer. 

The  duchess  of  Burgundy,  full  of  resentment  for  the 
oppression  of  her  family,  and  rather  irritated  than  discou- 
raged by  the  ill  success  of  her  past  enterprise,  propagated 
a  report  that  her  nephew,  Richard  Plantagenet,  duke  of 
York,  had  escaped  from  the  tower,  and  was  still  alive ; 
and  finding  this  rumour  greedily  received  by  the  people, 
she  sought  for  some  young  man  proper  to  personate  that 
unfortunate  prince. 

Warbeck,  a  renegado  Jew  of  Tournay,  who  had  visited 
London  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  had  there  a  son  born 
to  him.  Having  had  opportunities  of  being  known  to  the 
king,  and  obtaining  his  favour,  he  prevailed  with  that 
prince,  whose  manners  were  very  affable,  to  stand  god- 
father to  his  son,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Peter, 
corrupted,  after  the  Flemish  manner,  into  Peterkin,  or 
Perkin.  It  was  by  some  believed  that  Edward,  among  his 
amorous  adventures,  had  a  secret  commerce  with  War- 
beck's  wife  ;  and  people  thence  accounted  for  that  resem- 
blance which  was  afterwards  remarked  between  young 
Perkin  and  that  monarch.  Some  years  after  the  birth  of 
this  child,  Warbeck  returned  to  Tournay,  whence  Perkin 
his  son,  by  different  accidents,  was  carried  from  place  to 
place,  and  his  birth  and  fortunes  became  thereby  unknown, 
and  difficult  to  be  traced.  The  variety  of  his  adventures 
had  happily  favoured  the  natural  versatility  and  sagacity 
of  his  genius  ;  and  he  seemed  to  be  a  youth  perfectly  fitted 
to  act  any  part,  or  assume  any  character.  In  this  light 
he  had  been  represented  to  the  duchess  of  Burgundy,  who 
found  him  to  exceed  her  most  sanguine  expectations ;  so 
comely  did  he  appear  in  his  person,  so  graceful  in  his  air, 
so  courtly  in  his  address,  so  full  of  docility  and  good  sense 
in  his  behaviour  and  conversation.  The  lessons  neces- 
sary to  be  taught  him,  in  order  to  his  personating  the  duke 
of  York,  were  soon  learned  by  a  youth  of  such  quick  ap- 
prehension ;  and  Margaret,  in  order  the  better  to  conceal 
him,  sent  him,  under  the  care  of  lady  Brampton,  into  Por- 
tugal, where  he  remained  a  year,  unknown  to  all  the  world. 

The  war,  which  was  then  ready  to  break  out  between 


HENRY  VII.  163 

France  and  England,  seemed  to  afford  a  proper  opportu- 
nity for  this  impostor  to  try  his  success;  and  Ireland, 
which  still  retained  its  attachment  to  the  house  of  York, 
was  chosen  as  the  proper  place  for  his  first  appearance. 
He  landed  at  Cork ;  and  immediately  assuming  the  name 
of  Richard  Plantagenet,  drew  to  him  partisans  among  that 
credulous  people.  The  news  soon  reached  France  ;  and 
Charles,  prompted  by  the  secret  solicitations  of  the  duchess 
of  Burgundy,  sent  Perkin  an  invitation  to  repair  to  him  at 
Paris.  He  received  him  with  all  the  marks  of  regard  due 
to  the  duke  of  York.  The  French  courtiers  readily  em- 
braced a  fiction  which  their  sovereign  thought  it  his  inte- 
rest to  adopt ;  and  Perkin,  both  by  his  deportment  and 
personal  qualities,  supported  the  prepossession  which  was 
spread  abroad  of  his  royal  pedigree.  From  France,  the 
admiration  and  credulity  diffused  themselves  into  England : 
sir  George  Nevil,  sir  John  Taylor,  and  above  a  hundred 
gentlemen  more,  came  to  Paris,  in  order  to  offer  their 
services  to  the  supposed  duke  of  York,  and  to  share  his 
fortunes ;  and  the  impostor  had  now  the  appearance  of  a 
court  attending  him,  and  began  to  entertain  hopes  of  final 
success. 

When  peace  was  concluded  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, Charles  consented  to  dismiss  Perkin,  who  retired  to 
the  duchess  of  Burgundy.  That  princess  put  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  distrust ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  a  long  and 
severe  scrutiny,  that  she  pretended  to  burst  out  into  joy 
and  admiration,  and  embraced  Perkin  as  the  true  image 
of  Edward,  and  the  sole  heir  of  the  Plantagenets. 
Not  the  populace  alone  of  England  gave  credit  to  1  '.^A  ■ 
Perkin's  pretensions  ;  men  of  the  highest  birth  and 
quality  turned  their  eyes  towards  the  new  claimant ;  and 
sir  Robert  Clifford  and  William  Barley  made  him  a  tender 
of  their  services. 

The  king,  informed  of  these  particulars,  proceeded  deli- 
berately, though  steadily,  in  counter- working  the  projects 
of  his  enemies.  His  first  object  was  to  ascertain  the  death 
of  the  real  duke  of  York,  and  to  confirm  the  opinion  that 
had  always  prevailed  with  regard  to  that  catastrophe ;  but 
as  only  two  of  the  persons  employed  by  Richard,  in  the 
murder  of  his  nephews,  were  now  alive,  and  as  the  bodies 
were  supposed  to  have  been  removed  by  Richard's  orders, 
from  the  place  where  they  were  first  interred,  and  could 


164  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

not  now  be  found,  it  was  not  in  Henry's  power  to  establish 
the  fact  beyond  all  doubt  and  controversy.  He  was,  how- 
ever, more  successful  in  detecting  who  this  wonderful  per- 
son was,  who  thus  advanced  pretensions  to  his  crown. 
He  engaged  Clifford,  by  the  hope  of  rewards  and  pardon, 
to  betray  the  secrets  entrusted  to  him ;  and  such  was  the 
diligence  of  his  spies,  that  in  the  issue  the  whole  plan  of 
the  conspiracy  was  clearly  laid  before  him,  with  the  pedi- 
gree, adventures,  life,  and  conversation,  of  the  pretended 
duke  of  York  ;  and  this  latter  part  of  the  story  was  imme- 
diately published  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  nation. 

Several  of  the  conspirators  were  immediately  arrested. 
Some  of  inferior  rank  were  rapidly  arraigned,  convicted, 
and  condemned  for  high  treason  ;  but  more  solemnity  was 
deemed  necessary  in  the  trial  of  sir  William  Stanley,  one 
of  the  most  opulent  subjects  in  the  kingdom.  After  six 
weeks'  delay,  which  was  interposed  to  show  that  the  king 
was  restrained  by  doubts  and  scruples,  the  prisoner  was 
brought  to  his  trial,  condemned,  and  presently  after  be- 
headed. Historians,  however,  are  not  agreed  as  to  the 
precise  nature  of  the  crime  for  which  he  suffered. 

The  fate  of  Stanley  struck  the  adherents  of  Perkin  with 
the  greatest  dismay ;  and  as.  the  impostor  found  that  his 
pretensions  were  becoming  obsolete,  he  resolved  to  attempt 
something  which  might  revive  the  hopes  and  expectations 
of  his  partisans.  Having  collected  a  band  of  outlaws, 
pirates,  robbers,  and  necessitous  persons  of  all  nations,  to 
the  number  of  six  hundred  men,  he  put  to  sea,  with  a  reso- 
lution of  making  a  descent  in  England.  Information  be- 
ing brought  him  that  the  king  had  made  a  progress  to  the 
north,  he  cast  anchor  on  the  coast  of  Kent,  and  sent  some 
of  his  retainers  ashore,  who  invited  the  country  to  join 
him.  The  gentlemen  of  Kent  assembled  some  troops  to 
oppose  him  ;  but  they  purposed  to  do  more  essential  ser- 
vice than  by  repelling  the  invasion ;  they  carried  the  sem- 
blance of  friendship  to  Perkin,  and  invited  him  to  come 
himself  ashore,  in  order  to  take  the  command  over  them. 
But  the  wary  youth,  observing  that  they  had  more  order 
and  regularity  in  their  movements  than  could  be  supposed 
in  new  levied  forces  who  had  taken  arms  against  the  es- 
tablished authority,  refused  to  entrust  himself  into  their 
hands ;  and  the  Kentish  troops,  despairing  of  success  in 
their  stratagem,  fell  upon  such  of  his  retainers  as  were 


HENRY   VII.  165 

already  landed ;  and  killing  some,  they  took  a  hundred 
and  fifty  prisoners,  who  were  tried  and  condemned,  and 
executed  by  orders  from  the  king. 

This  year  a  parliament  was  summoned  in  England,  and 
another  in   Ireland ;   and  some  remarkable  laws 
were  passed  in  both  countries.     The  English  par-  i^r 
liament  passed  an  act,  empowering  the  king  to         ° 
levy,  by  course  of  law,  all  the  sums  which  any  person  had 
agreed  to  pay  by  way  of  benevolence  ;  a  statute  by  which 
that  arbitrary  method  of  taxation  was  indirectly  authorized 
and  justified. 

The  king's  authority  appeared  equally  prevalent  and 
uncontrolled  in  Ireland.  Sir  Edward  Poynings,  who  had 
been  sent  over  to  that  country,  with  an  intention  of  quel- 
ling the  partisans  of  the  house  of  York,  and  of  reducing 
the  natives  to  subjection,  summoned  a  parliament  at  Dub- 
lin, and  obtained  the  passing  of  that  memorable  statute, 
which  still  bears  his  name,  and  which,  during  three  cen- 
turies, established  the  paramount  authority  of  the  English 
government  in  Ireland.  By  this  statute,  all  the  former 
laws  of  England  were  made  to  be  in  force  in  Ireland  ;  and 
no  bill  could  be  introduced  into  the  Irish  parliament,  un- 
less it  had  previously  received  the  sanction  of  the  council 
of  England.* 

After  being  repulsed  from  the  coast  of  Kent,  Perkin 
retired  to  Ireland ;  but  tired  of  the  wandering  life  he  was 
compelled  to  lead  in  that  country,  he  passed  over  into 
Scotland,  where  he  was  favourably  received  by  James  IV., 
who  gave  him  in  marriage  the  lady  Catharine  Gordon, 
daughter  of  the  earl  of  Huntley.  The  jealousy  which 
subsisted  between  England  and  Scotland,  induced  James 
to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  impostor,  and  to  make  an  in- 
road into  England ;  but  Perkin's  pretensions  were  now 
become  stale,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace ;  and 
James  perceiving  that  while  Perkin  remained  in  Scotland, 
lie  should  never  enjoy  a  solid  peace  with  Henry,  privately 
(desired  him  to  depart. 

I  After  quitting  Scotland,  Perkin  concealed  himself  in 
the  wilds  and  fastnesses  of  Ireland.  Impatient,  however, 
bf  a  retreat  which  was  both  disagreeable  and  dangerous, 

!  *  By  the  act  of  union  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  these 
tabulations,  which  had  long  been  the  object  of  jealousy  and  con- 
tention, were  happily  rendered  obsolete. 


166  HISTOEY  OP  ENGLAND. 

he  held  consultations  with  his  followers,  Heme,  Skelton. 
and  Astley,  three  broken  tradesmen  ;  and  by  their  advice, 
he  resolved  to  try  the  affections  of  the  Cornish,  whose 
mutinous  disposition  had  been  lately  manifested,  in  resist- 
ing the  levy  of  a  tax  imposed  for  the  purpose  of  repelling 
the  inroad  of  the  Scots.  No  sooner  did  he  appear  at 
Bodmin,  in  Cornwall,  than  the  populace,  to  the  number 
of  three  thousand,  nocked  to  his  standard;  and  Perkin, 
elated  with  this  appearance  of  success,  took  on  him,  for 
the  first  time,  the  appellation  of  Richard  the  Fourth,  king 
of  England.  Not  to  suffer  the  expectations  of  his  fol- 
lowers to  languish,  he  presented  himself  before  Exeter ; 
and  finding  that  the  inhabitants  shut  their  gates  against 
him,  he  laid  siege  to  the  place ;  but  being  unprovided  with 
artillery,  ammunition,  and  every  thing  requisite  for  the 
attempt,  he  made  no  progress  in  his  undertaking. 

When  Henry  was  informed  that  Perkin  had  landed  in 
England,  he  expressed  great  joy  at  his  being  so  near,  and 
prepared  himself  with  alacrity  to  attack  him.  The  lords 
Daubeny  and  Broke,  with  sir  Rice  ap  Thomas,  hastened 
forward  with  a  small  body  of  troops  to  the  relief  of  Exe- 
ter, and  the  king  himself  prepared  to  follow  with  a  con- 
siderable army. 

Perkin,  informed  of  these  great  preparations,  immedi- 
ately raised  the  siege  of  Exeter,  and  retired  to  Taunton. 
Though  his  followers  seemed  still  resolute  to  maintain  his 
cause,  he  himself  despaired  of  success,  and  secretly  with- 
drew to  the  sanctuary  of  Beaulieu  in  the  new  forests. 
The  Cornish  rebels  submitted  to  the  king's  mercy.  Ex-; 
cept  a  few  persons  of  desperate  fortunes  who  were  exe- 
cuted, and  some  others  who  were  severely  fined,  all  the 
rest  were  dismissed  with  impunity.  Lady  Catharine  Gor- 
don, wife  to  Perkin,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victor,  and 
was  treated  with  a  generosity  which  does  him  honour. 
He  soothed  her  mind  with  many  marks  of  regard,  placed 
her  in  a  reputable  station  about  the  queen,  and  assigned  her 
a  pension,  which  she  enjoyed  even  under  his  successor. 

Perkin  being  persuaded,  under  promise  of  pardon,  to 
deliver  himself  into  the  king's  hands,  was  con- 
1 4Qft  ducted,  in  a  species  of  mock  triumph,  to  London. 
His  confession  of  his  life  and  adventures  was  pub- 
lished ;  but  though  his  life  was  granted  him,  he  was  still 
detained  in  custody.    Impatient  of  confinement,  he  broke 


HENRY   VII.  167 

from  his  keepers,  and  fled  to  the  sanctuary  of  Shyne.  He 
was  then  imprisoned  in  the  tower,  where  his  habits  of 
restless  intrigue  and  enterprise  followed  him.  He  insi- 
nuated himself  into  the  intimacy  of  four  servants  of  sir 
John  Digby,  lieutenant  of  the  tower ;  and,  by  their  means, 
opened  a  correspondence  with  the  earl  of  Warwick,  who 
was  confined  in  the  same  prison.  This  unfortunate  prince, 
who  had,  from  his  earliest  youth,  been  shut  up  from  the 
commerce  of  men,  and  who  was  ignorant  even  of  the 
most  common  affairs  of  life,  had  fallen  into  a  fatuity, 
which  made  him  susceptible  of  any  impression.  The 
continued  dread  also  of  the  more  violent  effects  of  Henry's 
tyranny,  joined  to  the  natural  love  of  liberty,  engaged  him 
to  embrace  a  project  for  his  escape,  by  the  murder  of  the 
lieutenant ;  and  Perkin  offered  to  conduct  the  whole  en- 
terprise. The  conspiracy  escaped  not  the  king's  vigilance. 
Perkin,  by  this  new  attempt,  had  rendered  himself  totally 
unworthy  of  mercy;  and  he  was  accordingly  arraigned, 
condemned,  and  soon  after  hanged  at  Tyburn,  acknow- 
ledging his  imposture  to  the  last. 

It  happeued  about  that  very  time  that  one  Wilford,  a 
cordwainer's  son,  encouraged  by  the  surprising  credit 
given  to  other  impostures,  had  undertaken  to  personate 
the  earl  of  Warwick ;  and  a  priest  had  even  ventured  from 
the  pulpit  to  recommend  his  cause  to  the  people.  This 
incident  served  Henry  as  a  pretence  for  his  severity  to- 
wards that  prince.  He  was  brought  to  trial,  and  accused 
of  forming  designs  to  disturb  the  government,  and  raise  an 
insurrection  among  the  people.  Warwick  confessed  the 
indietment,  was  condemned,  and  the  sentence  was  execu- 
ted upon  him.  This  act  of  tyranny,  the  capital  blemish  of 
Henry's  reign,  occasioned  great  discontent ;  and  though 
he  endeavoured  to  alleviate  the  odium  of  his  guilt,  by 
sharing  it  with  his  ally,  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  who,  he 
said,  had  scrupled  to  give  his  daughter  Catherine  in  mar- 
riage to  Arthur,  while  any  male  descendant  of  the  house 
of  York  remained ; — this  only  increased  the  indignation  of 
the  people,  at  seeing  a  young  prince  sacrificed  to  the  jea- 
lous politics  of  two  subtle  tyrants. 

There  was  a  remarkable  similarity  of  character  between 
these  two  monarchs :  both  were  full  of  craft,  intrigue,  and 
design ;  and  though  a  resemblance  of  this  nature  be  a 
slender  foundation  for  confidence  and  amity,  such  was  the 


168  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

situation  of  Henry  and  Ferdinand,  tha^  no  jealousy  ever 
arose  between  them.  The  king  completed  a  marriage, 
which  had  been  projected  and  negotiated  during  the  course 
of  seven  years,  between  Arthur  prince  of  Wales,  and  the 
infanta  Catherine,  fourth  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella ;  but  this  marriage  proved  in  the  issue  unprosperous. 
The  young  prince  a  few  months  after  sickened  and  died, 
much  regretted  by  the  nation.  Henry,  desirous  to  con- 
tinue his  alliance  with  Spain,  and  also  unwilling  to  restore 
Catherine's  dowry,  which  was  two  hundred  thousand  du- 
cats, obliged  his  second  son  Henry,  whom  he  created 
prince  of  Wales,  to  be  contracted  to  the  infanta,  by  virtue 
of  a  dispensation  from  the  pope.  This  marriage  was,  in 
the  event,  attended  with  the  most  important  consequences. 
In  the  same  year,  another  marriage  was  celebrated,  which 
was  also  in  the  next  age  productive  of  great  events  ;  the 
marriage  of  Margaret,  the  king's  eldest  daughter,  with 
James,  king  of  Scotland.  Amidst  these  prosperous  inci- 
dents the  queen  died  in  child-bed ;  and  the  infant  did  not 
long  survive  her.  This  princess  was  deservedly  a  fa- 
vourite of  the  nation ;  and  the  general  affection  for  her  was 
augmented  by  the  harsh  treatment  which  it  was  thought 
she  experienced  from  her  consort. 

Uncontrolled  by  apprehension  or  opposition  of  any  kind, 
Henry  now  gave  full  scope  to  his  natural  propen- 
sity; and  his  avarice,  which  had  ever  been  the  /cno 
ruling  passion  of  his  mind,  broke  through  all  re- 
straints. He  had  found  two  ministers,  Empsom  and  Dud- 
ley, perfectly  qualified  to  second  his  rapacious  and  tyran- 
nical inclinations.  These  instruments  of  oppression  were 
both  lawyers.  By  their  knowledge  in  law  these  men  were 
qualified  to  pervert  the  forms  of  justice  to  the  oppression 
of  the  innocent ;  and  the  formidable  authority  of  the  king 
supported  them  in  all  their  iniquities.  In  vain  did  the 
people  look  for  protection  from  the  parliament ;  that  as- 
sembly was  so  overawed,  that  during  the  greatest  rage  of 
Henry's  oppression,  the  commons  chose  Dudley  their 
speaker,  and  granted  him  the  subsidies  which  he  demand- 
ed. By  the  arts  of  accumulation,  this  monarch  so  filled 
his  coffers,  that  he  is  said  to  have  possessed  at  one  time 
the  sum  of  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds ; 
a  treasure  almost  incredible,  if  we  consider  the  scarcity  of 
money  in  those  times. 


HENRY  VII.  169 

The  decline  of  his  health  induced  the  king  to  turn  his 
thoughts  towards  that  future  existence,  which  the  iniqui- 
ties and  severities  of  his  reign  rendered  a  very  dismal  pros- 
pect to  him.  To  allay  the  terrors  under  which  he  labour- 
ed, he  endeavoured,  by  distributing  alms,  and  founding 
religious  houses,  to  make  atonement  for  his  crimes,  and  to 
purchase  by  the  sacrifice  of  part  of  his  ill-gotten  treasures, 
a  reconciliation  with  his  offended  Maker.  Remorse  even 
seized  him,  at  intervals,  for  the  abuse  of  his  authority  by 
Empson  and  Dudley ;  but  not  sufficiently  to  make  him 
stop  the  rapacious  hand  of  those  oppressors.  However, 
death,  by  its  nearer  approaches,  impressed  new  terrors 
upon  him ;  and  he  then  ordered,  by  a  general  clause  in 
his  will,  that  restitution  should  be  made  to  all  those  whom 
he  had  injured.  He  died  of  a  consumption,  at  his 
1  kftq  favourite  palace  of  Richmond,  after  a  reign  of 
twenty-three  years  and  eight  months,  and  in  the 
fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 

The  reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh  was,  on  the  whole,  for- 
tunate for  his  people  at  home,  and  honourable  abroad. 
He  loved  peace  without  fearing  war ;  and  this  acquired 
him  the  regard  and  consideration  of  foreign  princes.  His 
capacity  was  excellent,  though  somewhat  contracted  by 
the  narrowness  of  his  heart.  Avarice  was  his  ruling  pas- 
sion ;  and  to  gratify  it,  he  sacrificed  every  honourable 
principle. 

This  prince,  though  he  exalted  his  prerogative  above 
law,  is  celebrated  for  many  good  laws  which  he  establish- 
ed for  the  government  of  his  subjects  ;  but  the  most  im- 
portant law  in  its  consequences  which  was  enacted  during 
the  reign  of  Henry,  was  that  by  which  the  nobility  and 
gentry  acquired  a  power  of  breaking  the  ancient  entails, 
and  of  alienating  their  estates.  By  means  of  this  law, 
joined  to  the  beginning  luxury  and  refinement  of  the  age, 
the  great  fortunes  of  the  barons  were  gradually  dissipated, 
and  the  property  of  the  commons  increased  in  England. 
It  is  probable  that  Henry  foresaw  and  intended  this  con- 
sequence ;  because  the  constant  scheme  of  his  policy  con- 
sisted in  depressing  the  great,  and  exalting  churchmen, 
lawyers,  and  men  of  new  families,  who  would  be  more  ob- 
sequious. 

It  was  during  this  reign,  that  Christopher  Columbu* 
discovered  America ;  and  Vasquez  de  Gama  passed  tke 
15 


170  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  opened  a  new  passage  to  the 
East  Indies.     It  was  by  accident  only  that  Henry  had  not 
a  considerable  share  in   those   great  naval  discoveries. 
However,  he  fitted  out  Sebastian  Cabot,  a  Venetian,  set- 
tled in  Bristol ;  and  sent  him  westward,  in  1498,  in  search 
of  new  countries.     Cabot  discovered  the  main  land  of 
America,  towards  the  sixtieth  degree  of  northern  latitude, 
Newfoundland,  and  many  other  countries ;  but  returned 
to  England  without  making  any  conquest  or  settlement. 
Elliot,  and  other  merchants  in  Bristol,  made  a  like  at- 
tempt in  1502.     The  king  expended  fourteen  thousand 
pounds  in  building  one  ship,  called  the  "  Great  Harry ;" 
which  was,  properly  speaking,  the  first  ship  in  the  Eng- 
lish navy.      In  1453,  Constantinople  was  taken  by  the 
Turks  ;  and  the  Greeks,  among  whom  some  remains  of 
learning  were  still  preserved,  being  scattered  by  these  bar- 
barians, took  shelter  in  Italy,  and  imported,  together  with 
their  admirable  language,  a  tincture  of  their  science,  and 
of  their  refined  taste  in  poetry  and  eloquence.     About  the 
same  time,  the  purity  of  the  Latin  was  revived ;  and  the 
art  of  printing,  invented  about  that  time,  extremely  facili- 
tated the  progress  of  all  these  improvements.     The  in- 
vention of  gunpowder  changed  the  whole  art  of  war ;  and 
mighty  innovations  were  soon  after  made  in  religion.  Thus 
a   general   revolution   was   produced   in   human   affairs 
throughout  this  part  of  the  world ;  and  men  gradually  en- 
tered on  that  career  of  commerce,  arts,  science,  govern- 
ment, and  police,  in  which,  with  the  exception  of  some 
pauses,  they  have  ever  since  been  persevering. 


CHAP.  X. 

The  Reign  of  Henry  VilL 
The  accession  of  Henry  the  Eighth .  spread  universal 
joy  and  satisfaction.   Instead  of  a  monarch  jealous,  severe, 
and  avaricious,  a  young  prince  of  eighteen  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne,  who,  even  in  the  eyes  of  men  ,  *-qq 
af  sense,  gave  promising  hopes  of  his  future  con- 
duct, much  more  in  those  of  the  people,  always  enchanted 
with  novelty,  youth,  and  royal  dignity.     Hitherto  he  had 
been  occupied  entirely  in  manly  exercises  and  the  pur- 
suits of  literature  ;  and  the  proficiency  which  he  made  in 
each,  gave  no  bad  prognostic  of  his  parts  and  capacity* 


HENRY   VIII.  171 

Even  the  vices  of  vehemence,  ardour,  and  impatience,  to 
which  he  was  subject,  and  which  afterwards  degenerated 
into  tyranny,  were  considered  only  as  faults  of  unguarded 
youth,  which  would  be  corrected  by  time. 

The  chief  competitors  for  favour  were  the  earl  of  Sur- 
rey and  Fox  bishop  of  Winchester.  The  former  was  a 
dexterous  courtier,  and  promoted  that  taste  for  pleasure 
and  magnificence,  which  began  to  prevail  under  the  young 
monarch.  The  vast  treasures  amassed  by  the  late  king, 
were  gradually  dissipated  in  the  giddy  expenses  of  Henry ; 
or  if  he  intermitted  the  course  of.  his  festivity,  he  chiefly 
employed  himself  in  application  to  music  and  literature, 
which  were  his  favourite  pursuits,  and  which  were  well 
adapted  to  his  genius.  And  though  he  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  be  seduced  into  a  study  of  the  barren  controversies 
of  the  schools,  which  were  then  fashionable,  and  had 
chosen  Thomas  Aquinas  for  his  favourite  author,  he  still 
discovered  a  capacity  for  more  useful  and  interesting  ac- 
quirements. 

Empson  and  Dudley  were  sent  to  the  tower,  and  soon 
after  brought  to  trial ;  and  their  execution  was  less  an  act 
of  justice,  than  for^the  purpose  of  gratifying  the  people. 
Henry,  however,  while  he  punished  the  instruments  of 
past  tyranny,  paid  such  deference  to  former  engagements, 
as  to  celebrate  his  marriage  with  the  infanta  Catherine, 
though  her  former  marriage  with  his  brother  was  urged  by 
the  primate  as  an  important  objection. 

At  this  time,  when  the  situation  of  the  several  powerful 
states  of  Europe  promised,  by  balancing  each  other,  a 
long  tranquility,  the  flames  of  war  were  kindled  by  Julius 
II.  an  ambitious  and  enterprising  pontiff,  who  determined 
to  expel  all  foreigners  from  Italy,  and  drew  over  Ferdi- 
nand to  his  party.  He  solicited  the  favour  of  England,  by 
sending  Henry  a  sacred  rose,  perfumed  with  musk,  and 
anointed  with  chrism ;  and  he  also  gave  him  hopes,  that 
the  title  of  "  Most  Christian  King,"  which  had  hitherto 
been  annexed  to  the  crown  of  France,  should  in  reward 
of  his  services  be  transferred  to  that  of  England.  Impa- 
tient also  of  acquiring  distinction  in  Europe,  Henry  joined 
the  alliance,  which  the  pope,  in  conjunction  with  Spain 
and  Venice,  had  formed  against  the  French  monarch. 

Henry's  intended  invasion  of  France  roused  the  jealousy 
of  the  Scottish  nation.     The  ancient  league,  which  sub- 


172  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

sisted  between  France  and  Scotland,  was  conceived  to  be 
the  strongest  band  of  connexion;  and  the  Scots  univer- 
sally believed,  that  were  it  not  for  the  countenance  which 
they  received  from  this  foreign  alliance,  they  had  never 
been  able  so  long  to  maintain  their  independence  against  a 
people  so  much  superior.  James  was  farther  incited  to 
take  part  in  the  quarrel  by  the  invitations  of  Anne  queen  of 
France,  whose  knight  he  had  ever  in  all  tournaments  pro- 
fessed himself,  and  who  summoned  him,  according  to  the 
ideas  of  romantic  gallantry,  prevalent  in  that  age,  to  take 
the  field  in  her  defence,  and  to  prove  himself  her  true  and 
valorous  champion.  He  first  sent  a  squadron  of  ships  to 
the  assistance  of  France,  the  only  fleet  which  Scotland 
seems  ever  to  have  possessed ;  and  though  he  still  made 
professions  of  maintaining  a  neutrality,  the  English  am- 
bassador easily  foresaw,  that  a  war  would  in  the  end  prove 
inevitable,  and  gave  warning  of  the  danger  to  his  master. 
Henry,  ardent  for  military  fame,  was  little  discouraged 
by  this  appearance  of  a  diversion  from  the  north.  He  had 
now  got  a  minister  who  flatttered  him  in  every  scheme  to 
which  his  impetuous  temper  inclined.  Thomas  Wolsey, 
dean  of  Lincoln,  and  almoner  to  the  king,  surpassed  in 
favour  all  his  ministers,  and  was  fast  advancing  towards 
that  unrivalled  grandeur  which  he  afterwards  attained. 
This  man  was  son  of  a  butcher  at  Ipswich ;  but  having  got 
a  learned  education,  and  being  endowed  with  an  excellent 
capacity,  he  was  admitted  into  the  marquis  of  Dorset's  fa- 
mily as  tutor  to  that  nobleman's  children,  and  soon  gained 
the  favour  and  countenance  of  his  patron.  He  was  recom- 
mended to  be  chaplain  to  Henry  VII. ;  and  being  employ- 
ed by  that  monarch  in  a  secret  negotiation,  he  acquitted 
himself  to  the  king's  satisfaction,  and  was  considered  at 
court  as  a  rising  man.  The  death  of  Henry  retarded  his 
advancement ;  but  Fox  bishop  of  Winchester  cast  his  eye 
upon  him,  as  one  who  might  be  serviceable  to  him  in  his 
present  situation.  This  prelate,  observing  that  the  earl  of 
Surrey  had  totally  eclipsed  him  in  favour,  resolved  to  in- 
troduce Wolsey  to  the  young  prince's  familiarity,  and 
hoped  that  he  might  rival  Surrey  in  his  insinuating  arts, 
and  yet  be  content  to  act  in  the  cabinet  a  part  subordinate 
to  Fox  himself,  who  had  promoted  him.  In  a  little  time 
Wolsey  gained  so  much  on  the  king,  that  he  supplanted 
both  Surrey  in  his  favour,  and  Fox  in  his  trust  and  conn- 


HENRY  VIII.  173 

dence.  Being  admitted  to  Henry's  parties  of  pleasure,  he 
took  the  lead  in  every  jovial  conversation,  and  promoted 
all  that  frolic  and  entertainment  winch  he  found  suitable 
to  the  age  and  inclination  of  the  young  monarch.  Neither 
his  own  years,  which  were  near  forty,  nor  his  character  of 
a  clergyman,  were  any  restraint  upon  hnn,  or  engaged  him 
to  check,  by  any  useless  severity,  the  gayety  in  which 
Henry  passed  his  careless  hours. 

The  king  soon  advanced  his  favourite,  from  being  the 
companion  of  his  pleasures,  to  be  a  member  of  his  coun- 
cil ;  and  from  being  a  member  of  his  council,  to  be  his 
sole  and  absolute  minister.  By  this  rapid  advancement 
and  uncontrolled  authority,  the  character  and  genius  of 
Wolsey  had  full  opportunity  to  display  themselves.  In- 
satiable in  his  acquisitions,  but  still  more  magnificent  in 
his  expense ;  of  extensive  capacity,  but  still  more  un- 
bounded enterprise ;  ambitious  of  power,  but  still  more 
desirous  of  glory ;  insinuating,  engaging,  persuasive ;  and, 
by  turns,  lofty,  elevated,  commanding;  haughty  to  his 
equals,  but  affable  to  his  dependants ;  oppressive  to  the 
people,  but  liberal  to  his  friends ;  more  generous  than 
grateful;  less  moved  by  injuries  than  by  contempt;  he 
was  framed  to  take  the  ascendant  in  every  intercourse  witk 
others,  but  exerted  this  superiority  of  nature  with  such 
ostentation  as  exposed  him  to  envy,  and  made  every  one 
willing  to  recall  the  original  inferiority  of  his  condition. 

A  considerable  force  having  sailed  over  to  Calais,  Henry 
prepared  to  follow  with  the  main  body  and  rear  of  the 
army ;  and  he  appointed  the  queen  regent  of  the  kingdom 
during  his  absence.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  duke  of 
Buckingham,  and  many  others  of  the  nobility ;  but  of  the 
allies,  on  whose  assistance  he  relied,  the  Swiss  alone  per- 
formed their  engagements,  and  invaded  France.  The 
emperor  Maximilian,  instead  of  reinforcing  the  Swiss  with 
eight  thousand  men,  as  he  had  promised,  joined  the  Eng- 
lish army  with  a  few  German  and  Flemish  soldiers ;  and 
observing  the  disposition  of  the  English  monarch  to  be 
more  bent  on  glory  than  on  interest,  he  enlisted  himself 
into  his  service,  and  received  one  hundred  crowns  a  day, 
as  one  of  his  subjects  and  captains,  though,  in  reality,  he 
directed  all  the  operations  of  the  English  army. 

Terouane,  a  town  situated  on  the  frontiers  of  Picardy, 
was  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  from  want  of  provisions 
15* 


t74  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

and  ammunition,  when  eight  hundred  horsemen,  each  of 
whom  carried  a  sack  of  gunpowder  behind  him,  and  two 
quarters  of  bacon,  made  a  sudden  irruption  into  the  Eng- 
lish camp,  deposited  their  burden  in  the  town,  and  again 
broke  through  the  English  without  suffering  any  loss  in 
this  dangerous  enterprise.  But  the  English  had,  soon 
after,  full  revenge  for  the  insult.  Henry  had  received  in- 
telligence of  the  approach  of  the  French  horse,  who  had 
advanced  to  protect  another  incursion  of  Fontrailles  ;  and 
he  ordered  some  troops  to  pass  the  Lis,  for  the  purpose  of 
opposing  him.  The  cavalry  of  France,  though  they  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  gentlemen  who  had  behaved  with  great 
gallantry  in  many  desperate  actions  in  Italy,  were,  on  sight 
of  the  enemy,  seized  with  so  unaccountable  a  panic,  that 
they  immediately  took  to  flight,  and  were  pursued  by  the 
English.  The  duke  of  Longueville,  who  commanded  the 
Trench,  and  many  other  officers  of  distinction,  were  made 
prisoners.  This  action,  or  rather  rout,  is  sometimes  call- 
ed the  battle  of  Guinegate,  from  the  place  where  it  was 
fought ;  but  more  commonly  the  "  battle  of  spurs,"  be- 
cause the  French,  that  day,  made  more  use  of  their  spurs 
than  of  their  swords  or  military  weapons. 

After  the  capture  of  Terouane  and  Tournay,  the  king 
returned  to  England,  and  carried  with  him  the  greater 
part  of  his  army.  Success  had  attended  him  in  every 
enterprise  ;  but  all  men  of  judgment  were  convinced  that 
this  campaign  was,  in  reality,  both  ruinous  and  inglorious 
to  him. 

The  success  which  attended  Henry's  arms  in  the  north, 
was  much  more  decisive.  The  king  of  Scotland  had 
assembled  the  whole  force  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  after 
passing  the  Tweed  with  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men, 
he  ravaged  the  parts  of  Northumberland  nearest  to  that 
river,  and  employed  himself  in  taking  several  castles  of 
small  importance.  The  earl  of  Surrey,  having  collected 
a  force  of  twenty-six  thousand  men,  marched  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  country,  and  approached  the  Scots,  who  had 
encamped  on  some  high  ground  near  the  hills  of  Cheviot. 
Surrey  feigned  a  march  towards  Berwick ;  and  the  Scot- 
tish army  having  descended  the  hill,  an  engagement  be- 
came inevitable.  A  furious  action  commenced,  and  was 
continued  till  night  separated  the  combatants.  The  vic- 
tory seemed  yet  undecided,  and  the  numbers  that  fell  on 


HENRY  VIII.  175 

each  side  were  nearly  equal,  amounting  to  above  five 
thousand  men  ;  but  the  morning  discovered  where  the  ad- 
vantage lay.  The  English  had  lost  only  persons  of  small 
note ;  but  the  Scottish  nobility  had  fallen  in  battle,  and 
their  king  himself,  after  the  most  diligent  inquiry,  could 
no  where  be  found. 

The  king  of  Scotland,  and  most  of  his  chief  nobles,  be- 
ing slain  in  the  field  of  Fouden,  an  inviting  opportunity 
was  offered  to  Henry  of  reducing  that  kingdom  to  subjec- 
tion ;  but  he  discovered  on  this  occasion  a  mind  truly  great 
and  generous.  When  the  queen  of  Scotland,  Margaret, 
who  was  created  regent  during  the  infancy  of  her  son, 
applied  for  peace,  he  readily  granted  it ;  and  compassion- 
ated the  helpless  condition  of  his  sister  and  nephew.  The 
earl  of  Surrey,  who  had  gained  him  so  great  a  victory,  was 
restored  to  the  title  of  duke  of  Norfolk,  which  had  been 
forfeited  by  his  father  for  engaging  on  the  side  of  Richard 
the  Third ;  and  Wolsey,  who  was  both  his  favourite  and 
his  minister,  was  created  bishop  of  Lincoln. 

Peace  with  Scotland  enabled  Henry  to  prosecute  his 
enterprise  against  France,  yet  several   incidents 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  rashness  of  the  undertaking ;  -1-j 
and  the  duke  of  Longueville,  who  had  been  made 
prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Guinegate,  was  ready  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  this  disposition.     He  represented,  that  as  Lewis 
was  a  widower  without  male  children,  no  marriage  could 
be  more  suitable  to  him  than  that  with  the  princess  Mary, 
the  sister  of  Henry.     The  king  seemed  to  hearken  to  this 
discourse  with  willing  ears  ;  and  Longueville  received  full 
powers  from  his  master  for  negotiating  the  treaty.     The 
articles  were  easily  adjusted  between  the  monarchs. 

The  espousals  of  Mary  and  Lewis  were  soon  after  cele- 
brated at  Abbeville  ;  but  the  monarch  was  seduced  into  a 
course  of  gayety  and  pleasure,  very  unsuitable  to  the  de- 
clining state  of  his  health,  and  died  in  less  than 
three  months  after  the  marriage.     He  was  sue-  ,1,2 
ceeded  by  Francis,  duke  of  Angouleme,  who  had 
married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Lewis. 

The  numerous  enemies  whom  Wolsey's  sudden  eleva- 
tion and  haughty  deportment  had  raised  him,  served  only 
to  rivet  him  faster  in  Henry's  confidence.  He  preferred 
him  to  the  archbishopric  of  York,  and  allowed  him  to 
unite  with  it  the  sees  of  Durham  and  of  Winchester ;  while 


176  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

the  pope,  observing  his  great  influence  over  the  king,  and 
desirous  of  engaging  him  in  his  interests,  created  him  a 
cardinal.  His  train  consisted  of  eight  hundred  servants, 
of  whom  many  were  knights  and  gentlemen.  Whoever 
was  distinguished  by  any  art  or  science,  paid  court  to  the 
cardinal ;  and  none  paid  court  in  vain.  Literature,  which 
was  then  in  its  infancy,  found  in  him  a  generous  patron ; 
and  both  by  his  public  institutions  and  private  bounty,  he 
gave  encouragement  to  every  branch  of  erudition.  Not 
content,  however,  with  this  munificence,  which  gained  him 
the  approbation  of  the  wise,  he  strove  to  dazzle  the  eyes 
of  the  populace,  by  the  splendour  of  his  equipage  and 
furniture,  the  costly  embroidery  of  his  liveries,  and  the 
richness  of  his  apparel. 

Warham,  chancellor  and  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a 
man  of  a  moderate  temper,  and  averse  to  all  disputes, 
chose  rather  to  retire  from  public  employment,  than  main- 
tain an  unequal  contest  with  the  haughty  cardinal.  He 
resigned  his  office  of  chancellor ;  and  the  great  seal  was 
immediately  delivered  to  Wolsey.  If  this  new  accumula- 
tion of  dignity  increased  his  enemies,  it  also  served  to 
exalt  his  personal  character,  and  prove  the  extent  of  his 
capacity.  A  strict  administration  of  justice  took  place 
during  the  time  he  filled  this  high  office ;  and  no  chan- 
cellor ever  discovered  greater  impartiality  in  his  decisions, 
deeper  penetration  of  judgment,  or  more  enlarged  know- 
ledge of  law  and  equity. 

The  title  of  legate,  which  was  afterwards  conferred  on 
Wolsey,  brought  with  it  a  great  accession  of  power  and 
dignity.  He  erected  an  office,  which  he  called  the  lega- 
tine  court,  and  on  which  he  conferred  a  kind  of  inquisito- 
rial and  censorial  power,  even  over  the  laity ;  and  directed 
it  to  inquire  into  all  actions,  which,  though  they  escaped  the 
law,  might  appear  contrary  to  good  morals.  The  abuse, 
however,  of  this  court,  at  length  reached  the  king's  ears ; 
and  he  expressed  such  displeasure  at  the  cardinal,  as  made 
him  ever  after  more  cautious  in  exerting  his  authority. 

While  Henry,  indulging  himself  in  pleasure  and  amuse- 
ment, intrusted  the  government  of  his  kingdom  to 
|V|q  this   imperious   minister,    an    incident    happened 
abroad,  which  excited  his  attention.     Maximilian, 
the  emperor,  died ;  a  man  who,  of  himself,  was  indeed  of 
little  consequence ;  but  as  his  death  left  vacant  the  first 


HENRY  VIII.  177 

station  among  christian  princes,  it  set  the  passions  of  men 
in  agitation,  and  proved  a  kind  of  era  in  the  general  sys- 
tem of  Europe.  The  kings  of  France  and  Spain  imme- 
diately declared  themselves  candidates  for  the  imperial 
crown,  and  employed  every  expedient  of  money  or  intrigue, 
which  promised  them  success  in  so  great  a  point  of  ambi- 
tion. Henry  also  was  encouraged  to  advance  his  preten- 
sions ;  but  his  minister,  Pace,  who  was  despatched  to  the 
electors,  found  that  he  began  to  canvass  too  late. 

Francis  and  Charles  professed  from  the  beginning  to 
carry  on  this  rivalship  without  enmity ;  but  all  men  per- 
ceived that  this  moderation  would  not  be  of  long  duration ; 
and  when  Charles  at  length  prevailed,  the  French  monarch 
could  not  suppress  his  indignation  at  being  disappointed 
in  so  important  a  pretension.  Both  of  them  were  princes 
endowed  with  talents  and  abilities  ;  brave,  aspiring,  active, 
warlike  ;  beloved  by  their  servants  and  subjects,  dreaded 
by  their  enemies,  and  respected  by  all  the  world :  Francis, 
open,  frank,  liberal,  munificent ;  carrying  these  virtues  to 
an  excess  which  prejudiced  his  affairs :  Charles,  political, 
close,  artful,  frugal ;  better  qualified  to  obtain  success  in 
wars  and  in  negotiations,  especially  the  latter.  The  one 
the  more  amiable  man ;  the  other  the  greater  monarch. 
Charles  reaped  the  succession  of  Castile,  of  Arragon,  of 
Austria,  of  the  Netherlands  ;  he  inherited  the  conquest  of 
Naples,  of  Grenada ;  election  entitled  him  to  the  empire ; 
even  the  bounds  of  the  globe  seemed  to  be  enlarged  a  little 
before  his  time,  that  he  might  possess  the  whole  treasure, 
as  yet  entire  and  unrifled,  of  the  new  world.  But  though 
the  concurrence  of  all  these  advantages  formed  an  empire, 
greater  and  more  extensive  than  any  known  in  Europe 
since  that  of  the  Romans,  the  kingdom  of  France  alone, 
being  close,  compact,  united,  rich,  populous,  and  interpo- 
sed between  the  provinces  of  the  emperor's  dominions, 
was  able  to  make  a  vigorous  opposition  to  his  progress, 
and  maintain  the  contest  against  him.  i 

Henry  possessed  the  facility  of  being  able,  both  by  the 
native  force  of  his  kingdom  and  its  situation,  to  hold  the 
balance  between  those  two  powers  ;  but  he  was  heedless, 
inconsiderate,  capricious,  and  impolitic.  Francis,  well 
acquainted  with  his  character,  solicited  an  interview  near 
Calais,  in  hopes  of  being  able,  by  familiar  conversation,  to 
gain  upon  his  friendship  and  confidence.     Wolsey  ear- 


178  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

nestly  seconded  this  proposal;    and,  as  Henry  himself 
loved  show  and  magnificence,  he  cheerfully  adjusted  the 
preliminaries  of  the  interview.     The  two  monarchs  met 
in  a  field  within  the  English  pale,  between  Guisnes 
1  ^20  anc^  ^11(n'es »  and  sucn  was  their  profusion  of  ex- 
pense, as  j#£cured   to  the  place  the  name  of  the 
Field  of  the  Cloth  of  ixold. 

A  defiance  had  been  sent  by  the  two  kings  to  each 
other's  court,  and  through  all  the  chief  cities  of  Europe, 
importing,  that  Henry  and  Francis,  with  fourteen  aids, 
would  be  ready  in  the  plains  of  Picardy,  to  answer  all 
comers  that  were  gentlemen,  at  tilt  and  tournament.  The 
monarchs,  in  order  to  fulfil  this  challenge,  advanced  into 
the  field  on  horseback ;  Francis  surrounded  with  Henry's 
guards,  and  Henry  with  those  of  Francis.  They  were 
gorgeously  apparelled ;  and  were  both  of  them  the  most 
comely  personages  of  their  age,  as  well  as  the  most  expert 
in  every  military  exercise.  They  carried  away  the  prize 
at  all  trials  in  those  dangerous  pastimes.  The  ladies 
were  the  judges  in  these  feats  of  chivalry,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  rencounter  whenever,  they  deemed  it  expedient. 

Henry  afterwards  paid  a  visit  to  the  emperor  and  Mar- 
garet of  Savoy  at  Gravelines ;  and  the  artful  Charles  ef- 
faced all  the  friendship  to  which  the  frank  and  generous 
nature  of  Francis  had  given  birth.  He  secured  Wolsey 
in  his  interests,  by  assuring  him  of  his  assistance  in  ob- 
taining the  papacy,  and  by  putting  him  in  immediate  pos- 
session of  the  revenues  belonging  to  the  sees  of  Badajox 
and  Placentia. 

The  violent  emulation  between  the  emperor  and  the 
French  king,  soon  broke  out  in  hostilities.  Henry,  who 
pretended  to  be  neutral,  engaged  them  to  send  their  am- 
bassadors to  Calais,  there  to  negotiate  a  peace,  under  the 
mediation  of  Wolsey  and  the  pope's  nuncio.  The  empe- 
ror was  well  apprized  of  the  partiality  of  these  mediators ; 
and  his  demands  in  the  conference  were  so  unreasonable, 
as  plainly  proved  him  conscious  of  the  advantage.  On 
Francis  rejecting  the  terms  proposed,  the  congress  of 
Calais  broke  up,  and  Wolsey,  soon  after,  took  a  journey 
to  Bruges,  where  he  met  with  the  emperor.  He  was  re- 
ceived with  the  same  state,  magnificence,  and  respect,  as 
if  he  had  been  the  king  of  England  himself;  and  he  con- 
cluded, in  his  master's  name,  an  offensive  alliance  with 


HENRY  VIII.  179 

the  pope  and  the  emperor,  the  result  of  the  private  views 
and  ambitious  projects  of  the  cardinal. 

An  event  of  the  greatest  importance  engrossed  at  this 
time  the  attention  of  ail  Europe.  Leo  X.,  by  his  generous 
and  enterprising  temper,  having  exhausted  his  treasury,  in 
order  to  support  his  liberalities,  had  recourse  to  the  sale 
of  indulgences.  The  produce  of  this  revenue,  particularly 
that  which  arose  from  Saxony  and  the  countries  bordering 
on  the  Baltic,  was  farmed  out  to  a  merchant  of  Genoa. 
The  scandal  of  this  transaction,  with  the  licentious  lives 
which  the  collectors  are  reported  to  have  led,  roused  Mar- 
tin Luther,  a  professor  of  the  university  of  Wittemberg, 
who  not  only  preached  against  these  abuses  in  the  sale  of 
indulgences,  but  even  decried  indulgences  themselves,  and 
was  thence  carried,  by  the  heat  of  dispute,  to  question  the 
authority  of  the  pope.  Finding  his  opinions  greedily 
hearkened  to,  he  promulgated  them  by  writing  and  dis- 
course ;  and  in  a  short  time,  all  Europe  was  filled  with 
the  voice  of  this  daring  innovator. 

As  there  subsisted  in  England  great  remains  of  the 
Lollards,  the  doctrines  of  Luther  secretly  gained  many 
partisans  ;  but  Henry  had  been  educated  in  a  strict  attach- 
ment to  the  church  of  Rome,  and  therefore  opposed  the 
progress  of  the  Lutheran  tenets,  by  all  the  influence  which 
his  extensive  and  almost  absolute  authority  conferred  upon 
him.  He  even  wrote  a  book  in  Latin  against  the  princi- 
ples of  Luther;  a  performance  which,  if  allowance  be 
made  for  the  subject  and  the  age,  does  no  discredit  to  his 
capacity.  He  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  Leo,  who  received  so 
magnificent  a  present  with  great  testimony  of  regard  ;  and 
conferred  on  him  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith  ;" 
an  appellation  still  retained  by  the  kings  of  England. 

Henry  having  declared  war  against  France,    Surrey 
landed  some  troops  at  Cherbourg,  in  Normandy ; 
and  after  laying  waste  the  country,  he  sailed  to  \\^ 
Morlaix,  a  rich  town  in  Brittany,  which  he  took 
and  plundered.     The  war  with  France,  however,  pro- 
ceeded slowly  for  want  of  money.     Henry  had  caused  a 
general  survey  to  be  made  of  his  kingdom,  and  had  issued 
his  privy  seal  to  the  most  wealthy,  demanding  loans  of 
particular  sums ;  he  soon  after  published  an  edict  for  a 
general  tax  upon  his  subjects,  which  he  still  called  a  loan ; 
and  he  levied  five  shillings  in  the  pound  upon  the  clergy, 


180  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  two  upon  the  laity.  The  parliament,  which  was  sum- 
moned about  this  time,  was  far  from  complaining  of  these 
illegal  transactions ;  but  the  commons,  more  tenacious  of 
their  money  than  their  national  privileges,  refused  a  grant 
of  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds,  divided  into  four  yearly 
payments ;  a  sum  computed  to  be  equal  to  four  shillings 
in  the  pound  of  one  year's  revenue ;  and  they  only  voted 
an  imposition  of  three  shillings  in  the  pound  of  all  pos- 
sessed of  fifty  pounds  a  year  and  upwards,  of  two  shillings 
in  the  pound  on  all  who  enjoyed  twenty  pounds  a  year  and 
upwards,  one  shilling  on  all  who  possessed  between  twenty 
pounds  and  forty  shillings  a  year,  and  on  the  other  sub- 
jects above  sixteen  years  of  age,  a  groat  a  head.  The 
king  was  dissatisfied  with  this  saving  disposition  of  the 
commons ;  and  on  pretence  of  necessity,  he  levied  in  one 
year,  from  all  who  were  worth  forty  pounds,  what  the  par- 
liament had  granted  him  payable  in  four  years.  These 
irregularities  were  commonly  ascribed  to  Wolsey's  coun- 
sels, who,  trusting  to  the  protection  afibrded  him  by  his 
ecclesiastical  character,  was  less  scrupulous  in  his  en- 
croachments on  the  civil  rights  of  the  nation. 

A  new  treaty  was  concluded  between  Henry  and  Charles 
for  the  invasion  of  France  ;  but  the  duke  of  Bour- 
1^24  k°n'  t0  wnom  Charles  confided  a  powerful  army, 
in  order  to  conquer  Provence  and  Dauphiny,  was 
obliged,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  on  Marseilles,  to  lead 
his  forces,  weakened,  baffled,  and  disheartened,  into  Italy. 
Francis  might  now  have  enjoyed,  in  safety,  the  glory  of 
repulsing  all  his  enemies  ;  but,  ardent  for  the  conquest  of 
Milan,  he  passed  the  Alps,  and  laid  siege  to  Pavia,  a  town 
of  considerable  strength,  and  defended  by  Leyva,  one  of 
the  bravest  officers  in  the  Spanish  service.     Every  attempt 
which  the  French  king  made  to  gain  this  impor- 
I  eoc  tant  place  proved  fruitless.     Fatigue  and  unfavour- 
able weather  had  wasted  the  French  army,  when 
the  imperial  army,  commanded  by  Pescara,  Lannoy,  and 
Bourbon,  advanced  to  raise  the  siege.     The  imperial  gene- 
rals, after  cannonading  the  French  camp  for  several  days, 
at  last  made  a  general  assault,  and  broke  into  the  entrench- 
ments.    Francis's  forces  were  put  to  the  rout,  and  himself, 
surrounded  by  his  enemies,  after  fighting  with  heroic  va- 
lour, and  killing  seven  men  with  his  own  hand,  was  obli- 
ged at  last  to  surrender  himself  prisoner.    Almost  the  whole 


HENRY  VIII.  181 

army,  full  of  nobility  and  brave  officers,  either  perished  by 
the  sword,  or  were  drowned  in  the  river.  The  few  who 
escaped  with  their  lives  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Henry  was  startled  at  this  important  event,  and  became 
sensible  of  his  own  danger,  from  the  loss  of  a  proper  coun- 
terpoise to  the  power  of  Charles.  Instead  of  taking  advan- 
tage, therefore,  of  the  distressed  condition  of  Francis,  he 
was  determined  to  lend  him  assistance  in  his  present  cala- 
mities ;  and,  as  the  glory  of  generosity  in  raising  a  fallen 
enemy  concurred  with  his  political  interest,  he  hesitated 
the  less  in  embracing  these  new  measures.  He  con- 
cluded an  alliance  with  the  regent  of  France,  and  engaged 
to  procure  her  son  his  liberty  on  reasonable  conditions. 
Charles,  dreading  a  general  combination  against  him, 
was  at  length  prevailed  on  to  sign  the  treaty  of  Madrid. 
The  principal  condition  was  the  restoring  of  Francis's 
liberty,  and  the  delivery  of  his  two  eldest  sons  as  hostages 
to  the  emperor  for  the  cession  of  Burgundy. 

The  more  to  cement  the  union  between  Henry  and 
Francis,  a  new  treaty  was  some  time  after  concluded  at 
London ;  in  which  the  former  agreed  finally  to  renounce 
all  claims  to  the  crown  of  France ;  claims  which  might 
now  indeed  be  deemed  chimerical,  but  which  often  served 
as  a  pretence  for  disturbing  the  tranquility  of  the  two  na- 
tions. As  a  return  for  this  concession,  Francis  bound 
himself  and  his  successors  to  pay  for  ever  fifty  thousand 
crowns  a  year  to  Henry  and  his  ^iccessors;  and  that 
greater  solemnity  might  be  given  to  this  treaty,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  parliaments  and  great  nobility  of  both  king- 
doms should  give  their  assent  to  it.  Thus,  the  terror  of  the 
emperor's  greatness  had  extinguished  the  ancient  animo- 
sity between  the  nations  ;  and  Spain,  during  more  than  a 
century,  became  the  object  of  jealousy  to  the  English. 

The  marriage  of  Henry  with  Catherine  of  Arragon,  his 
^brother's  widow,  had  not  passed  without  much  scruple  and 
difficulty ;  the  prejudices  of  the  people  were  in  general  bent 
against  a  conjugal  union  between  such  near  relations ;  and 
with  some  doubts  that  naturally  arose  in  Henry's  mind, 
there  concurred  other  causes,  which  tended  much  to  in- 
crease his  remorse.  The  queen  was  older  than  the  king 
by  no  less  than  six  years  ;  and  the  decay  of  her  beauty, 
together  with  particular  infirmities  and  diseases,  had  con- 
tributed, notwithstanding  her  blameless  character  and  dt- 
16 


182  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

portment,  to  render  her  person  unacceptable  to  him. 
Though  she  had  borne  him  several  children,  they  all  died 
in  early  infancy,  except  one  daughter ;  and  he  was  the 
more  struck  with  this  misfortune,  because  the  curse  of  be- 
ing childless  is  the  very  threatening  contained  in  the  Mo- 
saical  law  against  those  who  espouse  their  brother's  widow. 
The  succession,  too,  of  the  crown  was  a  consideration  that 
occurred  to  every  one,  whenever  the  lawfulness  of  Henry's 
marriage  was  called  in  question  ;  and  it  was  apprehended, 
that  if  doubts  of  Mary's  legitimacy  concurred  with  the 
weakness  of  her  sex,  the  king  of  Scots,  the  next  heir, 
would  advance  his  pretensions,  and  might  throw  the  king- 
dom into  confusion.  Thus  the  king  was  impelled,  both 
by  his  private  passions,  and  by  motives  of  public  interest, 
to  seek  the  dissolution  of  his  inauspicious,  and,  as  it  was 
esteemed,  unlawful  marriage  with  Catherine. 

Anne  Boleyn,  who  lately  appeared  at  court,  had  been 
appointed  maid  of  honour  to  the  queen,  and  had  acquired 
an  entire  ascendant  over  Henry's  affections.  This  young 
lady,  whose  grandeur  and  misfortunes  have  rendered  her 
so  celebrated,  was  daughter  of  sir  Thomas  Boleyn,  who 
had  been  employed  by  the  king  in  several  embassies,  and 
who  was  allied  to' all  the  principal  nobility  in  the  kingdom. 
Henry's  scruples  or  aversion  had  made  him  break  off  all 
conjugal  commerce  with  the  queen  j  but  as  he  still  sup- 
ported an  intercourse  of  civility  and  friendship  with  her, 
he  had  occasion,  in  the  frequent  visits  which  he  paid  her, 
to  observe  the  beauty,  the  youth,  the  charms  of  Anne  Bo- 
leyn. Finding  the  accomplishment  of  her  mind  no  wise 
inferior  to  her  exterior  graces,  he  even  entertained  the  de- 
sign of  raising  her  to  the  throne  ;  and  as  every  motive  of 
inclination  and  policy  seemed  thus  to  concur  in  making 
the  king  desirous  of  a  divorce  from  Catherine,  he  resolved 
to  make  application  to  pope  Clement,  and  sent  Knight,  his 
secretary,  to  Rome  for  that  purpose.     Clement  was  then 

a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  emperor ;  and  when 
I'-rto  the  English  secretly  solicited  him  in  private,  he 

received  a  very  favourable  answer.  After  Clement 
had  recovered  his  liberty,  he  granted  a  commission,  to  try 
the  validity  of  the  king's  marriage,  in  which  cardinal 
Campeggio  was  joined  with  Wolsey ;  but  in  conformity 
with  the  pope's  view*  and  intentions,  the  former  deferred 
the  decision  by  the  most  artful  delays.     At  length,  the 


HENRY  VIII.  183 

business  seemed  to  be  drawing  near  to  a  period :  and  the 
king  was  every  day  in  expectation  of  a  sentence  in  his 
favour,  when  the  menaces  and  promises  of  Charles  proved 
successful ;  and  Clement  suspended  the  commission  of 
the  legates,  and  adjourned  the  cause  to  his  own  personal 
judgment  at  Rome. 

Wolsey  had  long  foreseen  the  failure  of  this  measure  as 
the  sure  forerunner  of  his  ruin.  The  dukes  of  Norfolk 
and  Suffolk  were  sent  to  require  from  him  the  great  seal, 
which  was  delivered  by  the  king  to  sir  Thomas  More.  All 
his  furniture  and  plate  were  seized  ;  and  the  cardinal  was 
ordered  to  retire  to  Esher,  a  country  seat  which  he  pos- 
sessed near  Hampton  court. 

Dr.  Thomas  Cranmer,  fellow  of  Jesus  College  in  Cam- 
bridge, a  man  remarkable  for  his  learning,  and  still  more 
for  the  candour  and  disinterestedness  of  his  temper,  falling 
one  evening  by  accident  into  company  with  Gardiner, 
now  secretary  of  state,  and  Fox,  the  king's  almoner,  the 
business  of  the  divorce  became  the  subject  of  conversation. 
Cranmer  observed,  that  the  readiest .  way,  either  to  quiet 
Henry's  conscience,  or  extort  the  pope's  consent,  would  be 
to  consult  all  the  universities  of  Europe  with  regard  to 
this  controverted  point.  When  the  king  was  informed  of 
the  proposal,  he  was  delighted  with  it,  and  immediately, 
in  prosecution  of  the  scheme  proposed,  employed  his  agents 
to  collect  the  judgments  of  all  the  universities  in  Europe. 
The  universities  of  France,  of  Venice,  Ferrara,  Padua, 
and  Bologna,  with  those  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
1530  £ave  tne^r  0Pnli°n  m  tne  kind's  favour;  and  the 
convocations  both  of  Canterbury  and  York  pro- 
nounced Henry's  marriage  invalid.  But  Clement,  who 
was  still  under  the  influence  of  the  emperor,  continued  to 
summon  tb*1  king  to  appear,  either  by  himself  or  proxy, 
before  his  ttiounal  at  Rome. 

After  Wolsey  had  remained  some  time  at  Esher,  he  was 
allowed  to  remove  to  Richmond  ;  but  the  courtiers,  dread- 
ing still  his  vicinity  to  the  king,  procured  an  order  for  him 
to  remove  to  his  see  of  York.  The  cardinal,  therefore, 
took  up  his  residence  at  Cawood  in  Yorkshire ;  but  he 
was  not  allowed  to  remain  long  unmolested  in  this  retreat. 
The  earl  of  Northumberland  received  orders,  without  re- 
gard to  WoAsey's  ecclesiastical  character,  to  arrest  him  for 
high  treason,  and  to  conduct  him  to  London,  in  order  to 


184  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

take  his  trial.  The  cardinal,  partly  from  the  fatigues  of 
his  journey,  partly  from  the  agitation  of  his  anxious  mind, 
was  seized  with  a  disorder  which  turned  into  a  dysentery, 
and  he  was  able,  with  some  difficulty,  to  reach  Leicester- 
abbey,  where  he  immediately  took  to  his  bed,  whence  he 
never  rose  more.  A  little  before  he  expired,  among  other 
expressions,  he  used  the  following  words  to  sir  William 
Kingston,  constable  of  the  tower,  who  had  him  in  custo- 
dy :  "  Had  I  but  served  God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served 
my  king,  he  would  not  have  given  me  over  in  my  gray 
hairs."  Thus  died  this  famous  cardinal,  whose  character- 
seems  to  have  contained  as  singular  a  variety  as  the  for- 
tune to  which  he  was  exposed. 

A  new  session  of  parliament  was  held,  together  with  a 
convocation  ;  and  from  the  latter  a  confession  was 
,  loi*  extorted,  that  "  the   king  was  the  protector,  and 
the  supreme  head  of  the  church  and  clergy  of  Eng- 
land."    In  the  next  session,  an  act  was  passed  against  le- 
vying the  annates  or  first-fruits ;  and  it  was  also  voted,  that 
any  censures  which  should  be  passed  by  the  court  of  Rome, 
on  account  of  that  law,  should  be  entirely  disregarded. 

Having  proceeded  too  far  to  recede,  Henry  privately 
celebrated  his  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,  whom 
..'-oo  he   had  previously  created  marchioness  of  Pem- 
broke.    Anne  became  pregnant  soon  after  her  mar- 
riage ;  and  this  event  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  king. 
An  act  was  made  against  all  appeals  to  Rome  in  causes  of 
matrimony  and  divorces ;    and  Henry,  finding  the  new 
queen's  pregnancy  to  advance,  publicly  owned  his  mar- 
riage, and  informed  Catherine  that  she  was  hereafter  to 
be  treated  only  as  princess-dowager  of  Wales. 

The  parliament  enacted  laws  which  were  totally  subver- 
sive of  the  papal  authority  in  England.  But  the  most  im- 
portant law  passed  this  session,  was  that  which  regulated 
the  succession  to  the  crown.  The  marriage  of  the  king 
with  Catherine  was  declared  unlawful,  void,  and  of  no 
effect ;  and  the  marriage  with  queen  Anne  was  established 
and  confirmed.  The  crown  was  appointed  to  descend  to 
the  issue  of  this  marriage,  and  failing  them,  to  the  king's 
heirs  forever.  An  oath  likewise  was  enjoined  to  be  taken 
in  favour  of  this  order  of  succession,  under  the  penalty  of 
imprisonment  during  the  king's  pleasure,  and  forfeiture 
of  goods  and  chattels.     Fisher,  bishop  of  Rochester,  and 


HENRY  VIII.  -.85 

sir  Thomas  More,  were  the  only  persons  of  note  whe 
scrupled  the  oath  of  succession:  and  the  king  ordered 
both  to  be  indicted  upon  the  statute,  and  committed  pri- 
soners to  the  tower. 

The  parliament  being  again  assembled,  conferred  on  the 
king  the  title  of  the  only  supreme  head  on  earth  of 
the  church  of  England :  and  in  this  memorable  act  ,  *~o  J 
they  acknowledged  his  inherent  power  "  to  visit, 
and  repress,  redress,  reform,  order,  correct,  restrain,  or 
amend,  all  errors,  heresies,  abuses,  offences,  contempts^ 
and  enormities,  which  fell  under  any  spiritual  authority 
or  jurisdiction."  They  also  declared  it  treason  to  attempt, 
imagine,  or  speak  evil  against  the  king,  queen,  or  his 
heirs,  or  to  endeavour  depriving  them  of  their  dignities  or 
titles.  They  gave  him  a  right  to  all  the  annates  and 
tithes  of  benefices,  which  had  formerly  been  paid  to  the 
court  of  Rome.  They  attainted  More  and  Fisher  for  mis- 
prision of  treason  ;  and  they  completed  the  union  of  Eng- 
gland  and  Wales,  by  giving  to  that  principality  all  the 
benefits  of  the  English  laws. 

Though  Henry  had  rejected  the  authority  of  the  see  of 
Rome,  yet  the  idea  of  heresy  still  appeared  detestable  as 
well  as  formidable  to  that  prince ;  and  for  more  reasons 
than  one,  he  was  indisposed  to  encourage  the  opinions  of 
the  reformers.  Separate  as  he  stood  from  the  catholic 
church,  and  from  the  Roman  pontiff,  the  head  of  it,  he 
still  valued  himself  on  maintaining  the  catholic  doctrine, 
and  on  guarding  by  fire  and  sword  the  imagined  purity  of 
his  speculative  principles. 

Henry's  ministers  and  courtiers  were  of  as  motley  a 
character  as  his  conduct ;  and  seemed  to  waver,  during 
this  whole  reign,  between  the  ancient  and  the  new  religion. 
The  queen,  engaged  by  interest  as  well  as  inclination,  fa- 
voured the  cause  of  the  reformers.  Cromwell,  who  was 
created  secretary  of  state,  and  who  was  daily  advancing  in 
the  king's  confidence,  had  embraced  the  same  views  ;  and 
as  he  was  a  man  of  prudence  and  abilities,  he  was  able, 
very  effectually,  though  in  a  covert  manner,  to  promote  the 
late  innovations.  Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
had  secretly  adopted  the  protestant  tenets  :  and  he  had 
gained  Henry's  friendship  by  his  candour  and  sincerity ; 
virtues  which  he  possessed  in  as  eminent  a  degree  as  those 
times,  equally  distracted  with  faction  and  oppressed  by 
16* 


136  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND, 

tyranny,  could  easily  permit.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
duke  of  Norfolk  adhered  to  the  ancient  faith  ;  and  by  his 
high  rank,  as  well  as  by  his  talents  both  for  peace  and 
war,  he  had  great  authority  in  the  king's  council :  Gardi- 
ner, lately  created  bishop  of  Winchester,  had  enlisted 
himself  in  the  same  party;  and  the  suppleness  of  his 
character,  and  dexterity  of  his  conduct,  had  rendered  him 
one  of  its  principal  supporters. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  king,  who  held  the  balance  be- 
tween the  factions,  was  enabled,  by  the  courtship  paid  him 
both  by  protestants  and  catholics,  to  assume  an  unbound- 
ed authority.  The  ambiguity  of  his  conduct,  though  it 
kept  the  courtiers  in  awe,  served  in  the  main  to  encourage 
the  protestant  doctrine  among  his  subjects.  The  books 
composed  by  the  Lutherans  were  secretly  imported  into 
England,  and  made  converts  every  where  ;  but  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  by  Tindal,  who,  dreading  the  exer- 
tion of  the  king's  authority,  had  fled  to  Antwerp,  was  justly 
deemed  one  of  the  most  fatal  blows  to  the  established  faith. 

Though  Henry  neglected  not  to  punish  those  who  ad- 
hered to  the  protestant  doctrine,  which  he  deemed  heresy, 
yet  he  knew  that  his  most  formidable  enemies  were  the 
monks,  who,  having  their  immediate  dependence  on  the 
Roman  pontiff,  apprehended  their  own  ruin  to  be  the  cer- 
tain consequence  of  abolishing  his  authority  in  England. 
Some  of  these  were  detected  in  a  conspiracy ;  and  the 
detection  instigated  the  king  to  take  vengeance  on  them. 
He  suppressed  three  monasteries ;  and  finding  that  little 
clamour  was  excited  by  this  act  of  power,  he  was  more 
encouraged  to  lay  his  rapacious  hands  on  the  remainder. 
Meanwhile,  he  exercised  punishments  on  individuals  who 
were  obnoxious  to  him.  The  parliament  had  made  it 
treason  to  endeavour  to  deprive  the  king  of  his  dignity  or 
titles ;  they  had  lately  added  to  his  other  titles  that  of 
supreme  head  of  the  church  ;  it  was  inferred  that  to  deny 
his  supremacy  was  treason  ;  and  many  priors  and  ecclesi- 
astics lost  their  lives  for  this  new  species  of  guilt.  Impel- 
led by  his  violent  temper,  and  desirous  of  striking  a  terror 
into  the  whole  nation,  Henry  proceeded,  by  making  ex- 
amples of  Fisher  and  More,  to  consummate  his  tyranny. 

When  the  execution  of  Fisher  and  More  was  reported 
at  Rome,  Paul  III.,  who  had  succeeded  Clement  VII.  in 
the  papal  throne,  excommunicated  the  king  and  his  adhe 


HENRY   VIII.  187 

rents,  deprived  him  of  his  crown,  and  gave  his  kingdom 
to  any  invader ;  but  he  delayed  the  publication  of 
this  sentence  till  the  emperor,  who  was  at  that  /rofj 
time  had  pressed  by  the  Turks  and  the  protestant 
princes  in  Germany,  should  be  in  a  condition  to  carry  it 
into  execution.  However,  an  incident  happened,  which 
seemed  to  open  the  way  for  a  reconciliation  between  Hen- 
ry and  Charles.  Queen  Catherine  died  at  Kimbolton  in 
the  county  of  Huntingdon,  of  a  lingering  illness,  in  the 
fiftieth  year  of  her  age.  She  wrote  a  very  tender  letter  to 
the  king,  a  little  before  she  expired,  in  which  she.  gave  him 
the  appellation  of  her  most  dear  lord,  king,  and  husband ; 
and  she  concluded  with  these  words  :  "  I  make  this  vow, 
that  mine  eyes  desire  you  above  all  things."  The  king 
was  touched,  even  to  the  shedding  of  tears,  by  this  last 
tender  proof  of  Catherine's  affection ;  but  queen  Anne  is 
said  to  have  expressed  her  joy  from  the  death,  of  a  rival 
beyond  what  decency  or  humanity  could  permit. 

The  emperor  thought  that,  as  the  demise  of  his  aunt  had 
removed  all  foundation  of  a  personal  animosity  between 
him  and  Henry,  it  might  not  be  impossible  to  detach  him 
from  the  alliance  of  France  ;  but  Henry  was  rendered  in- 
different to  the  advances  made  by  the  emperor,  both  by 
his  experience  of  the  duplicity  and  insincerity  of  that 
monarch,  and  the  ill  success  that  he  met  with  in  his  inva- 
sion of  Provence. 

Henry,  conscious  of  the  advantages  of  his  situation, 
determined  to  suppress  the  monasteries,  and  to  put  him- 
self in  possession  of  their  ample  revenues,  *  and  for  that 
purpose  he  delegated  his  supremacy  to  Cromwell,  who 
was  then  secretary  of  state,  and  who  employed  commis- 
sioners to  inquire  into  the  conduct  and  deportment  of  the 
friars.  If  we  may  credit  the  reports  of  the  commissioners, 
monstrous  disorders  were  found  in  many  of  the  religious 
houses.  Henry  had  recourse  to  his  usual  instrument  of 
power,  the  parliament ;  and  in  order  to  prepare  men  for 
the  innovations  projected,  the  report  of  the  visiters  was 
published,  and  a  general  horror  was  endeavoured  to  be 
excited  in  the  nation  against  institutions,  which  had  long 
been  the  objects  of  the  most  profound  veneration.  An  act 
was,  therefore,  passed,  by  which  three  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-six monasteries  were  suppressed,  and  their  revenues, 
amounting  to  thirty-two  thousand  pounds  a  year,  were 


188  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

granted  to  the  king,  together  with  their  goods,  chattels, 
and  plate,  computed  at  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  more. 
It  does  not  appear  that  any  opposition  was  made  to  this 
important  law :  so  absolute  was  Henry's  authority  ! 

But  while  the  supporters  of  the  new  religion  were  exult- 
ing in  their  prosperity,  they  met  with  a  mortification  in  the 
fate  of  their  patroness  Anne  Boleyn,  who  lost  her  life  by 
the  rage  of  her  furious  husband.  She  had  been  delivered 
of  a  dead  son ;  and  Henry's  extreme  fondness  for  male 
issue  was  thereby  disappointed.  The  king's  love  was 
transferred  to  Jane,  daughter  of  sir  John  Seymour ;  and  he 
was  determined  to  sacrifice  every  thing  to  the  gratification 
of  his  new  appetite.  In  a  tilting  at  Greenwich,  the  queen 
happened  to  drop  her  handkerchief,  an  accident  probably 
casual,  but  interpreted  by  the  king  as  an  instance  of  gal- 
lantry to  some  of  her  paramours.  He  immediately  arrested 
several  persons,  in  the  number  of  whom  was  lord  Roche- 
ford,  the  queen's  brother ;  and  next  day  he  ordered  the 
queen  to  be  carried  to  the  tower.  The  queen  and  her 
brother  were  tried  by  a  jury  of  peers  ;  and  the  chief  evi- 
dence adduced  against  them  was,  that  Rocheford  had  been 
seen  to  lean  on  her  bed,  before  some  company.  Unas- 
sisted by  counsel,  the  queen  defended  herself  with  great 
judgment  and  presence  of  mind ;  and  the  spectators  pro- 
nounced her  entirely  innocent.  Judgment,  however,  was 
given  against  both  her  and  Rocheford;  and  when  the 
dreadful  sentence  was  pronounced,  lifting  up  her  hands  to 
heaven,  she  exclaimed,  "  O  Father,  O  Creator,  thou  who 
art  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  thou  knowest  that  1 
have  not  deserved  this  fate."  After  being  beheaded,  her 
body  was  thrown  into  a  common  chest  of  elm-tree,  made 
to  hold  arrows,  and  was  buried  in  the  tower.  The  inno- 
cence of  Anne  Boleyn  cannot  be  reasonably  called  in  ques- 
tion ;  and  the  king  made  the  most  effectual  apology  for  her, 
by  marrying  Jane  Seymour  the  day  after  the  execution. 
The  parliament  had  the  meanness  to  declare  the  issue  of 
both  his  former  marriages  illegitimate ;  and  the  crown 
was  settled  on  the  king's  issue  by  Jane  Seymour,  or  any 
subsequent  wife ;  and  in  case  he  should  die  without  issue, 
he  was  empowered  by  his  will  to  dispose  of  the  crown. 

A  convocation  which  sat  at  the  same  time  with  the  par- 
liament, determined  the  standard  of  faith  to  consist  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  three  creeds,  the  Apostolic,  Nieene 


" 


HENRY  VIII.  189 

and  Athanasian ;  auricular  confession,  and  penance,  were 
admitted  ;  but  no  mention  was  made  of  marriage,  extreme 
unction,  confirmation,  or  holy  orders,  as  sacraments  ;  and 
in  this  omission  the  influence  of  the  protestants  appeared. 
The  real  presence,  however,  was  asserted,  conformably  to 
the  ancient  doctrine  ;  while  the  terms  of  acceptance  were 
established  to  be  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  the  mercy  and 
good  pleasure  of  God,  suitable  to  the  new  principles. 
These  articles  of  belief  were  formed  by  the  convocation, 
corrected  by  the  king,  and  subscribed  by  every  member  of 
that  society  ;  whilst  not  one,  except  Henry,  adopted  these 
doctrines  and  opinions.  The  expelled  monks,  wandering 
about  the  country,  excited  both  the  pity  and  compassion 
of  men ;  and  as  the  ancient  religion  took  hold  of  the  popu- 
lace by  powerful  motives,  suited  to  vulgar  capacity,  it  was 
able,  now  that  it  was  brought  into  apparent  hazard,  to 
raise  the  strongest  zeal  in  its  favour.  The  first  rising  was 
in  Lincolnshire,  and  amounted  to  about  twenty  thousand 
men ;  but  the  duke  of  Suffolk  appearing  at  the  head  of 
some  forces,  with  secret  assurances  of  pardon,  the  popu- 
lace was  dispersed,  and  a  few  of  their  leaders  suffered. 
The  northern  rebels  were  more  numerous  and  more  for- 
midable than  those  of  Lincolnshire.  One  Aske,  a  gentle- 
man, had  taken  the  command  of  them,  and  possessed  the 
art  of  governing  the  populace.  Their  enterprise  they 
called  the  pilgrimage  of  grace  ;  they  took  an  oath  that 
their  only  motive  proceeded  from  their  love  to  God,  their 
care  of  the  king's  person  and  issue,  their  desire  of 
purifying  the  nobility,  of  restoring  the  church,  and  1 '-cyZ 
of  suppressing  heresy.  The  duke  of  Norfolk  was 
appointed  general  of  the  king's  forces  against  the  rebels. 
Aske,  with  many  other  chiefs,  was  put  to  death ;  and  an 
amnesty  was  granted  to  the  people. 

Not  long  after  this  prosperous  issue,  Henry's  joy  was 
crowned  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  who  was  baptized  by  the 
name  of  Edward ;  yet  his  happiness  was  not  without  alloy, 
for  in  two  days  after  the  queen  died.  The  prince,  not  six 
days  old,  was  created  prince  of  Wales,  duke  of  Cornwall, 
and  earl  of  Chester ;  sir  Edward  Seymour,  the  queen's 
brother,  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  earl  of  Hertford ;  sir 
-William  Fitzwilliams,  high  admiral,  was  created  earl  of 
Southampton ;  sir  William  Paulet,  lord  St.  Joh'n ;  sir  John 
Russel,  lord  Russel. 


190  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Henry's  rapacity,  the  consequence  of  his  profusion,  pro- 
duced the  most  entire  destruction  of  the  monasteries ;  a 
new  visitation  of  them  was  appointed  ;  and  the  abbots  and 
monks  were  induced,  in  hopes  of  better  treatment,  to  make 
a  voluntary  resignation  of  their  houses.  The  whole  reve- 
nue of  these  establishments  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty-one  thousand  one  hundred  pounds.  Great  murmurs 
were  every  where  excited,  on  account  of  these  violent 
measures  ;  but  Henry  took  an  erFectual  method  of  inte- 
resting the  nobility  and  gentry  in  the  success  of  his  mea- 
sures ;  he  either  made  a  gift  of  the  revenues  of  convents 
to  his  favourites  and  courtiers,  or  sold  them  at  low  prices, 
or  exchanged  them  for  other  lands  on  very  disadvanta- 
geous terms.  The  court  of  Rome  saw  this  sacrilegious 
plunder  with  extreme  indignation ;  and  Henry  was  fre- 
quently reproached  with  his  resemblance  to  the  emperor 
Julian. 

The  king  was  so  much  governed  by  passion,  that  no- 
thing could  have  delayed  his  opposition  against  Rome, 
but  some  new  objects  of  animosity.  Though  he  had  gra- 
dually been  changing  the  tenets  of  that  theological  system 
in  which  he  had  been  educated,  yet  he  was  no  less  dog- 
matical in  the  few  articles  which  remained  to  him,  than  if 
the  whole  fabric  had  been  entire  and  unshaken.  The 
point  on  which  he  chiefly  rested  his  orthodoxy  happened 
to  be  the  real  presence ;  and  every  departure  from  this 
principle,  he  held  to  be  heretical  and  detestable. 

Lambert,  a  schoolmaster  in  London,  drew  up  objections 
against  the  corporeal  presence  ;  and  when  cited  by  Cran- 
mer  and  Latimer,  instead  of  recanting,  he  ventured  to  ap- 
peal to  the  king.  Henry,  not  displeased  with  an  oppor- 
tunity of  exerting  his  supremacy,  and  displaying  his  learn- 
ing, accepted  the  appeal.  Public  notice  was  given,  that 
he  intended  to  enter  the  lists  with  the  schoolmaster ;  scaf- 
folds were  erected  in  Westminster-hall  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  audience ;  and  Henry  appeared  on  his  throne, 
accompanied  with  all  the  ensigns  of  majesty,  and  with  the 
prelates  and  temporal  peers  on  each  side  of  him.  The 
bishop  of  Chichester  opened  the  conference  ;  and  the  king 
asked  Lambert,  with  a  stern  countenance,  what  his  opinion 
was  of  Christ's  corporeal  presence  in  the  sacrament  of  the 
altar.  He  afterwards  pressed  Lambert  with  arguments 
drawn  from  scripture  and  the  schoolmen.    The  audience 


HENRY  VIH.  191 

applauded  the  force  of  his  reasoning  and  the  extent  of  his 
erudition ;  Cranmer  seconded  his  proofs  by  some  new 
topics ;  Gardiner  entered  the  lists  as  a  support  to  Cran- 
mer ;  Tonstal  took  up  the  argument  after  Gardiner  5 
Stokesley  brought  fresh  aid  to  Tonstal ;  six  bishops  more 
appeared  successively  in  the  field  after  Stokesley ;  and 
the  disputation,  if  it  deserves  the  name,  was  proclaimed 
for  five  hours ;  till  Lambert,  fatigued,  confounded,  brow- 
beaten, and  abashed,  was  at  last  reduced  to  silence.  The 
king  then  proposed,  as  a  concluding  argument,  this  inte- 
resting question,  whether  he  were  resolved  to  live  or  to 
die  1  Lambert  replied,  that  he  cast  himself  wholly  on  his 
majesty's  clemency ;  the  king  told  him,  that  he  would  be 
no  protector  of  heretics  ;  and,  therefore,  if  that  were  his 
final  answer,  he  must  expect  to  be  committed  to  the  flames. 
Cromwell,  as  vicegerent,  pronounced  the  sentence  against 
him.  Lambert's  executioners  took  care  to  make  the  suf- 
ferings of  a  man  who  personally  opposed  the  king,  as 
cruel  as  possible  ;  he  was  burned  at  a  slow  fire  ;  and  when 
there  appeared  no  end  of  his  torments,  some  of  the  guards, 
more  merciful  than  the  rest,  lifted  him  on  their  halberts, 
and  threw  him  into  the  flames,  where  he  was  consumed. 
While  they  were  employed  in  this  friendly  office,  he  cried 
aloud  several  times,  none  but  Christ,  none  but  Christ ;  and 
with  these  words  he  expired. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Jane  Seymour,  Henry 
began  to  think  of  a  new  marriage ;  and  Cromwell  proposed 
to  him  Anne  of  Cleves,  whose  father,  the  duke  of  that 
name,  had  great  interest  among  the  Lutheran  princes. 
The  marriage  was  at  length  concluded ;  and  Anne  was 
sent  over  to  England.  The  king,  however,  found 
her  utterly  destitute  both  of  beauty  and  grace ;  , » .  ~ 
swore  that  she  was  a  great  Flanders  mare,  and  de- 
clared that  he  never  could  possibly  bear  her  any  affection. 
His  aversion  to  the  queen  secretly  increased  every  day ; 
and  having  at  last  broken  all  restraint,  it  prompted  him  at 
once  to  seek  the  dissolution  of  a  marriage  so  odious  to 
him,  and  to  involve  his  minister  in  ruin,  who  had  been  the 
i  nnocertt  author  of  it.  The  fall  of  Cromwell  was  hastened 
by  other  causes.  The  catholics  regarded  him  as  the  con- 
cealed enemy  of  their  religion ;  the  protestants,  observing 
Lis  exterior  concurrence  with  all  the  persecutions  exercised 
against  them,  were  inclined  to  bear  him  as  little  favour ; 


192  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  the  king,  who  found  that  great  clamour  had  on  aH 
hands  arisen  against  the  government,  was  not  displeased 
to  throw  on  Cromwell  the  load  of  public  hatred,  hoping 
by  so  easy  a  sacrifice  to  regain  the  affections  of  his  sub- 
jects. Another  more  powerful  cause,  however,  brought 
about  an  unexpected  revolution  in  the  ministry.  The 
king  had  fixed  his  affections  on  Catharine  Howard,  niece 
to  the  duke  of  Norfolk ;  and,  being  determined  to  gratify 
this  new  passion,  he  could  find  no  other  expedient  than  a 
divorce  from  his  present  consort,  to  raise  Catharine  to  his 
bed  and  throne.  The  duke,  who  had  long  been  in  enmity 
with  the  minister,  obtained  a  commission  from  the  king  to 
arrest  Cromwell  at  the  council  table,  on  an  accusation  of 
high  treason,  and  to  commit  him  to  the  tower.  Immedi- 
ately after,  a  bill  of  attainder  was  framed  against  him ; 
and  the  house  of  peers  thought  proper,  without  trial,  ex- 
amination or  evidence,  to  condemn  to  death,  on  the  most 
frivolous  pretences,  a  man  whom,  a  few  days  before,  they 
had  declared  worthy  to  be  vicar-general  of  the  universe. 
The  house  of  commons  passed  the  bill,  though  not  without 
some  opposition.  When  brought  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion, Cromwell  avoided  all  earnest  protestations  of  his  in- 
nocence, and  all  complaints  against  the  sentence  pro- 
nounced upon  him.  He  knew  that  Henry  would  resent 
on  his  son  those  symptoms  of  opposition  to  his  will,  and 
that  his  death  alone  would  not  terminate  that  monarch's 
vengeance.  He  was  a  man  of  prudence,  industry,  and 
abilities ;  worthy  of  a  better  master  and  of  a  better  fate. 
Though  raised  to  the  summit  of  power  from  a  low  origin, 
yet  he  betrayed  no  insolence  or  contempt  towards  his  in- 
feriors ;  and  he  was  careful  to  remember  all  the  obliga- 
tions which,  during  his  more  humble  fortune,  he  had  owed 
to  any  one ;  a  circumstance  that  reflects  the  highest  lustre 
on  his  character. 

The  measures  for  divorcing  Henry  from  Anne  of  Oleves, 
were  carried  on  at  the  same  time  with  the  bill  of  attainder 
against  Cromwell.  Anne  had  formerly  been  contracted, 
by  her  father,  to  the  duke  of  Lorraine  ;  and  Henry  plead- 
ed this  pre-contract  as  a  ground  of  divorce.  The  convo- 
cation was  satisfied  with  this  reason,  and  solemnly  annul- 
led the  marriage  between  the  king  and  queen ;  the  parlia- 
ment ratified  the  de^  ion  of  the  clergy  ;  and  Anne,  bles- 
sed wit"    a  happy  insensibility  of  temper,  accepted  of  * 


HENRY   VIII.  193 

settlement  of  three  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  gave  her 
consent  to  the  divorce. 

An  alliance  contracted  by  Henry  with  the  emperor,  and 
his  marriage  with  Catharine  Howard,  which  followed  soon 
after  his  divorce  from  Anne  of  Cleves,  were  regarded  as 
favourable  incidents  to  the  catholics ;  and  the  subsequent 
events  corresponded  to  their  expectations.  A  fierce  per- 
secution commenced  against  the  protestants ;  but  whilst 
the  king  exerted  his  violence  against  the  protestants,  he 
spared  not  the  catholics,  who  denied  his  supremacy ;  and 
hence  it  was  said  by  a  foreigner  in  England,  that  those 
who  were  against  the  pope  were  burned,  and  those  who 
were  for  him  were  hanged. 

Henry  had  thought  himself  very  happy  in  his  new  mar- 
riage :  the  agreeable  person  and  disposition  of  Catharine 
had  entirely  captivated  his  affections ;  and  he  made  no 
secret  of  his  devoted  attachment  to  her.  But  the  queen's 
conduct  very  little  merited  this  tenderness :  one  Lascelles 
brought  intelligence  of  her  dissolute  life  to  Cranmer  ;  and 
told  him  that  Derham  and  Mannoc^both  of  them  servants 
to  the  old  duchess  of  Norfolk,  had  been  admitted  to  her 
bed.  Three  maids  of  the  family  were  admitted  into  her 
secrets,  and  some  of  them  had  even  passed  the  night  in 
bed  with  her  and  her  lovers.  The  queen  being  question- 
ed, denied  her  guilt ;  but  when  informed  that  a  full  disco- 
very was  made,  she  confessed  that  she  had  been  criminal 
before  marriage ;  and  only  insisted,  that  she  had  never 
been  false  to  the  king's  bed.  But  as  there  was  evidence 
that  one  Colepepper  had  passed  the  night  with  her  alone 
since  her  marriage  ;  and  as  it  appeared  that  she  had  taken 
Derham,  her  old  paramour,  into  her  service,  she  seemed 
to  deserve  little  credit  in  this  asseveration ;  and  the  king, 
besides,  was  not  of  a  humour  to  make  any  difference  be- 
tweoWhese  degrees  of  guilt. 

IT  jiry  convoked  a  parliament,  the  usual  instrument  of 
his  tyranny;  and  the  two  houses,  having  received  the 
queen's  confession,  voted  a  bill  of  attainder  for  treason 
against  the  queen,  and  the  viscountess  Rocheford,  who  had 
conducted  her  secret  amours ;  and  in  this  bill  Colepepper 
and  Derham  were  also  comprehended.  At  the  same  time, 
they  passed  a  bill  of  attainder  for  misprision  of  treason 
against  the  old  duchess  of  N  ^k,  Catharine's  grand- 
mother ;  her  uncle,  lord  Wi  N^ward,  and  his  ladr, 


194  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

together  with  the  countess  of  Bridgewater,  and  nine  per- 
sons more ;  because  they  knew  the  queen's  vicious  course 
of  life  before  her  marriage,  and  had  concealed  it.  Henry 
himself  seems  to  have  been  sensible  of  the  cruelty  of  this 
proceeding ;  for  he  pardoned  the  duchess  of  Norfolk,  and 
most  o:  the  others  condemned  for  misprision  of  treason. 
However,  to  secure  himself  for  the  future,  as  well  as.  his 
successors,  from  this  fatal  accident,  he  engaged  the  par- 
liament to  pass  a  law,  that  if  the  king  married  any  woman 
wiio  had  been  incontinent,  taking  her  for  a  true  maid,  she 
should  be  guilty  of  treason  if  she  did  not  previously  reveal 
her  guilt  to  him.  The  people  made  merry  with  this  sin- 
gular enactment,  and  said,  that  the  king  must  henceforth 
look  out  for  a  widow ;  for  no  reputed  maid  would  ever  be 
persuaded  to  incur  the  penalty  of  the  statute.  After  this, 
the  queen  was  beheaded  on  Tower-hill,  together  with  lady 
Rocheford.  They  behaved  in  a  manner  suitable  to  their 
dissolute  life ;  and  as  lady  Rocheford  was  known  to  be 
the  chief  instrument  in  bringing  Anne  Boleyn  to  her  un- 
timely end,  she  died  uimitied. 

James,  king  of  the  Scots,  having  incurred  the  resent- 
ment of  Henry,  a  manifesto  soon  paved  the  way  to  hos- 
tilities ;  and  the  duke  of  Pforfolk,  at  the  head  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  passed  the  Tweed  at  Berwick,  and  march- 
ed along  the  banks  of  the  river  as  far  as  Kelso ;  but  on 
the  approach  of  James,  with  thirty  thousand  men,  the 
English  repassed  the  river,  and  retreated  into  their  own 
country.  The  king  of  Scots,  inflamed  with  a  desire  of 
military  glory,  and  of  revenge  on  his  invaders,  gave  the 
signal  for  pursuing  them,  and  carrying  the  war  into  Eng- 
land ;  but  his  nobility,  wiio  Were  in  general  disaffected  on 
account  of  the  preference  which  he  had  given  to  the  clergy, 
©pposed  this  resolution,  and  refused  to  attend  \um  in  his 
projected  enterprise.  Enraged  at  this  mutiny,  he  ■  idl- 
ed them  with  cowardice,  and  threatened  vengeari  >■<  (/but 
he  sent  ten  thousand  men  to  the  western  border^  who 
entered  England  at  Solway  Frith;  and  he  himself  followed 
them  at  a  small  distance.  This  army,  however,  was  ready 
to  disband,  when  a  small  body  of  English  appeared,  not 
exceeding  five  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  Da- 
cres  and  Musgrave.  A  panic  seized  the  Scots,  who  im- 
mediately .{o«k  to  fti^  .  'K\d  were  pursued  by  the  enemy. 
Few  were  killed  in  iy  ^gen  but  a  great  many  were  taken 


Edward  VI. 


Mary. 


HENRY  VIII.  195 

prisoners,  and  some  of  the  principal  nobility,  who  were 
all  sent  to  London.  James,  being  naturally  of  a  melan- 
cholic disposition,  as  well  as  endued  with  a  high  spirit, 
lost  all  command  of  his  temper  on  this  dismal  occasion. 
Rage  against  his  nobility,  who  he  believed  had  betrayed 
him  ;  shame  for  a  defeat  by  such  unequal  numbers  ;  regret 
for  the  past,  fear  of  the  future ;  aD  these  passions  so 
wrought  upon  him,  that  he  would  admit  of  no  consolation, 
but  abandoned  himself  wholly  to  despair.  His  body  was 
wasted  by  sympathy  with  his  anxious  mind  ;  and  even  his 
life  began  to  be  thought  in  danger.  He  had  no  issue  liv- 
ing, and  hearing  that  his  queen  was  safely  delivered,  he 
asked,  whether  she  had  brought  him  a  male  or  a  female 
child.  Being  told  the  latter,  he  turned  himself  in  his  bed : 
"  the  crown  came  with  a  woman,"  said  he,  u  and 
it  will  go  with  one  ;  many  miseries  await  this  poor  -i'zaA 
kingdom ;  Henry  will  make  it  his  own,  either  by 
force  of  arms  or  by  marriage."  A  few  days  after,  he  ex- 
pired, in  the  flower  of  his  age. 

Henry  was  no  sooner  informed  of  his  victory,  and  of 
the  death  of  his  nephew,  than  he  projected  the  scheme  of 
uniting  Scotland  to  his  own  dominions,  by  marrying  his 
son  Edward  to  the  heiress  of  that  kingdom.  The  Scottish 
nobles,  who  were  his  prisoners,  readily  assented  to  the 
proposal ;  and  after  delivering  hostages  for  their  return, 
hi  case  the  intended  nuptials  should  not  be  completed, 
they  were  all  allowed  to  return  to  Scotland.  A  negotia- 
tion was  commenced  with  sir  Ralph  Sadler,  the  English 
ambassador,  for  the  marriage  of  the  infant  queen  with  the 
prince  of  Waleta ;'.  and  equitable  conditions  were  quickly 
agreed  on ;  but  Beaton,  the  cardinal  primate,  who  acted 
as  minister  to  James,  was  able,  by  his  intrigues,  to  con- 
found this  measure.  He  represented  the  union  with  Eng- 
land as  the  certain  ruin  of  the  ancient  religion ;  and  as 
soon  as  he  found  a  war  with  that  kingdom  unavoidable, 
he  immediately  applied  to  France  for  assistance  during 
the  present  distresses  of  the  Scottish  nat^"-  " Tne  influ- 
ence of  the  French  in  Scotland  «ACi'ted  the  resentment  of 
Henry,  who  formed  a  close  league  with  the  emperor ;  and 
war  was  declared  against  Francis  by  the  allies. 

In  order  to  obtain  supplied  for  this  projected  war  with 
France,  Henry  summoned  a  new  session  of  parliament, 
which  granted  him  a  sabsidy.    About  the  same  time,  the 


196  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

king  married  Catharine  Par,  widow  of  Nevil,  lord 
j  V^o  Latimer,  a  woman  of  virtue,  and  somewhat  inclined 
to  the  reformed  doctrines.     On  the  other  hand,  the 
king's  league  with  the  emperor  seemed  a  circumstance  no 
less  favourable  to  the  catholic  party ;  and  thus  matters  re- 
mained still  nearly  balanced  between  the  factions. 

While  the  winter  season  restrained  Henry  from  military 
operations,  he  summoned  a  new  parliament,  which,  after 
declaring  the  prince  of  Wales,  or  any  of  the  king's  male 
issue,  first  heirs  to  the  crown,  restored  the  two  princesses, 
Mary  and  Elizabeth,  to  their  right  of  succession.  Such, 
however,  was  the  caprice  of  the  king,  that  while  he  open- 
ed the  way  for  these  princesses  to  ascend  the  throne,  he 
would  not  allow  the  acts  to  be  reversed  which  declared 
them  illegitimate  ! 

Henry  sent  a  fleet  and  army  to  invade  Scotland.  The 
troops  were  disembarked  near  Leith  ;  and,  after  dispers- 
ing a  small  body  which  opposed  them,  they  took  that  town 
without  resistance,  and  then  marched  to  Edinburgh,  the 
gates  of  which  were  soon  beaten  down  ;  and  the  English 
first  pillaged,  and  then  set  fire  to  the  city.  The  earl  ot 
Arran,  who  was  regent,  and  Beaton  the  cardinal,  were 
not  prepared  to  oppose  so  great  a  force ;  and  they  fled  to 
Stirling.  The  English  marched  eastward,  laid  waste  the 
whole  country,  burned  and  destroyed  Haddington  and 
Dunbar,  and  then  retreated  into  England. 

This  incursion  inflamed,  without  subduing  the  spirit  of 
the  Scots  ;  but  Henry  recalled  his  troops,  in  consequence 
of  his  treaty  with  the  emperor,  by  which  those  two  princes 
had  agreed  to  invade  France  with  above  one  hundred 
thousand  men.  The  city  of  Boulogne  was  treacherously 
surrendered  to  Henry ;  but  the  emperor,  after  taking  seve- 
ral places,  concluded  a  peace  with  Francis,  at  Crepy, 
where  no  mention  was  made  of  England ;  and  Henry, 
finding  himself  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  Montreuil, 
returned  into  England.  This  campaign  served  to  the 
populace  ao  matter  of  great  triumph ;  but  all  men  of  sense 
concluded  that  the  Ki,.s  v^,  as  in  all  his  former  military 
enterprises,  obtained,  at  a  great  expense,  an  unimportant 
acquisition. 

The  war  with   Scotland,  meanwhile,  was  conducted 

d    feebly,  and  with  various  success;  and  the  war  with 

1545  -^rance  was  not  distinguished  by  any  memorable 

event.     The  great  expense  of  these  two  wars  main- 


HENRY  VIII.  197 

tained  by  Henry,  obliged  him  to  summon  a  new  parlia- 
ment. The  commons  granted  him  a  subsidy,  payable  in 
two  years,  of  two  shillings  a  pound  on  land  ;  the  spiritua- 
lity voted  him  six  shillings  a  pound.  But  the  parliament, 
apprehensive  lest  more  demands  should  be  made  upon 
them,  endeavoured  to  save  themselves  by  a  very  extraor- 
dinary liberality  of  other  people's  property.  By  one  vote 
they  bestowed  on  the  king  all  the  revenues  of  the  univer- 
sities, as  well  as  of  the  chauntries,  free  chapels,  and  hospi- 
tals. Henry  was  pleased  with  this  concession,  as  it  in- 
creased his  power ;  but  he  had  no  intention  to  rob  learn- 
ing of  all  her  endowments ;  and  he  soon  took  care  to  in- 
form the  universities  that  he  meant  not  to  touch  their 
revenues.  Thus  these  ancient  and  celebrated  establish- 
ments owe  their  existence  to  the  generosity  of  the  king, 
not  to  the  protection  of  this  servile  parliament. 

Henry  employed  in  military  preparations  the  money 
granted  by  parliament ;  and  he  sent  over  the  earl 
of  Hertford  and  lord  Lisle,  the  admiral,  to  Calais,  *  *_^ 
with  a  body  of  nine  thousand  men,  two-thirds  of 
which  consisted  of  foreigners.     Some  skirmishes  of  small 
moment  ensued  with  the  French  ;  but  as  no  hopes  of  any 
considerable  progress  could  be  entertained  by  either  party, 
both  came  to  an  accommodation.     Commissioners  met  at 
Campe,  a  small  place  between  Ardres  and  Guisnes ;  and 
it  was  agreed,  that  Henry  should  retain  Boulogne  during 
eight  years,  or  till  the  former  debt  due  by  Francis  should 
be  paid.     This  debt  was  settled  at  two  millions  of  livres, 
besides  a  claim  of  five  hundred  thousand  livres,  which  waf 
afterwards  to  be  adjusted.     Francis  took  care  to  compre- 
hend Scotland  in  the  treaty.     Thus  all    hat  Henry  ob- 
tained by  a  war  which  cost  him  above  one  million  thr?* 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  was  a  ,a(* 
and  a  chargeable  security  for  a  debt    k'hich  wa^ not  a 
third  of  the  value. 

The  king  had  now  leisure  to  attend  to  dome^c  affairs. 
He  was  prevailed  on  to  permit  the  litany  to  le  celebrated 
in  the  vulgar  tongue ;  and  Cranmer,  takinj  advantage  of 
Gardiner's  absence  on  an  embassy  to  *ne  emperor,  at- 
tempted to  draw  him  into  farther  innovations ;  but  Gardi- 
ner wrote  to  Henry,  and  retarded  £>r  some  time  the  pro- 
jects of  Cranmer.  The  catholics  took  hold  of  the  king 
by  his  passion  for  orthodoxy ;  and  they  represented  t» 
17* 


198  HISTORY   OF    ENGLAND. 

him,  that  if  his  laudable  zeal  for  enforcing  the  truth  met 
with  no  better  success,  it  was  altogether  owing  to  the  pri- 
mate, whose  example  and  encouragement  were,  in  reality, 
the  secret  supports  of  heresy.  Henry,  seeing  the  point  at 
which  they  aimed,  feigned  a  compliance,  and  desired  the 
council  to  make  inquiry  into  Cranmer's  conduct.  Every 
body  now  considered  the  primate  as  lost ;  and  when  ad- 
mitted into  the  council-chamber,  he  was  told,  that  they 
had  determined  to  send  him  to  the  tower.  Cranmer  said, 
that  he  appealed  to  the  king  himself;  and  finding  his  ap- 
peal disregarded,  he  produced  a  ring,  which  Henry  had 
given  him  as  a  pledge  of  favour  and  protection.  The 
council  were  confounded ;  and  when  they  came  before 
the  king,  he  reproved  them  in  the  severest  terms ;  and 
told  them  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  Cranmer's 
merit,  as  well  as  with  their  malignity  and  envy. 

But  though  Henry's  partial  favour  for  Cranmer  ren- 
dered fruitless  all  accusations  against  him,  his  pride  and 
peevishness,  irritated  by  his  declining  state  of  health,  in- 
duced him  to  punish  with  severity  every  other  person  who 
differed  from  him  in  opinion.  Ann  Ascue,  a  young  lady 
of  merit  as  well  as  beauty,  who  was  connected  with  the 
queen  herself,  was  accused  of  dogmatizing  on  the  real 
presence ;  and,  after  being  subjected  to  the  torture  in  the 
most  barbarous  manner,  she  was  sentenced  to  be  burned 
alive,  with  four  others  condemned  for  the  same  crime. 
When  they  were  all  tied  to  the  stake,  they  refused  the 
pardon  that  was  offered  on  condition  of  recantation  ;  and 
they  saw  with  tranquility  the  executioner  kindle  the  flames 
that  were  to  consume  them. 

Though  the  secrecy  and  fidelity  of  Ann  Ascue  saved 
the  queen  from  this  peril,  yet  that  princess  soon  after  fell 
in\a  new  danger,  from  which  she  narrowly  escaped. 
HeiKj»s  favourite  topic  of  conversation  was  theology ;  and 
CatharK^  whose  good  sense  enabled  her  to  discourse  on 
any  subje**  was  frequently  engaged  in  the  argument ; 
and,  being  ^pretly  inclined  to  the  principles  of  the  refor- 
mers, she  unw>ri|y  betrayed  too  much  of  her  mind  on  these 
occasions.  Hei*y?  highly  provoked  that  she  should  pre- 
sume to  differ  fromVmi,  complained  of  her  obstinacy  to  Gar- 
diner, who  gladly  lai*  hold  of  the  opportunity  to  inflame 
the  quarrel ;  and  the  king,  hurried  on  by  his  own  impetuous 
temper,  and  encouraged  by  his  bigoted  counsellors,  went 


HENRY   VIII.  199 

so  far  as  to  order  articles  of  impeachment  to  be  drawn  up 
against  his  consort.  By  some  means  this  important  paper 
fell  into  the  hands  of  one  of  the  queen's  friends,  who  im- 
mediately carried  the  intelligence  to  her.  Sensible  of  the 
extreme  danger  to  which  she  was  exposed,  she  paid  her 
usual  visit  to  the  king,  who  entered  on  the  subject  most 
familiar  to  him,  and  who  seemed  to  challenge  her  to  an 
argument  in  divinity.  She  gently  declined  the  conversa- 
tion, and  remarked,  that  such  profound  speculations  were 
ill-suited  to  the  natural  imbecility  of  her  sex.  Woman,  she 
said,  by  their  creation,  were  made  subject  to  men.  It  be- 
longed to  the  husband  to  choose  principles  for  his  wife ;  the 
wife's  duty  was,  in  all  cases,  to  adopt  implicitly  -the  senti- 
ments of  her  husband  ;  and  as  to  herself,  it  was  doubly  her 
duty,  being  blest  with  a  husband  who  was  qualified  by  his 
judgment  and  learning  to  choose  principles  not  only  for  his 
own  family,  but  for  the  most  wise  and  knowing  of  every 
nation.  "  Not  so,  by  St.  Mary,"  replied  the  king  ;  "  you 
are  now  become  a  doctor,  Kate  ;  and  better  fitted  to  give 
than  receive  instructions."  She  meekly  replied,  that  she 
was  sensible  how  little  she  was  entitled  to  these  praises ; 
that  though  she  usually  declined  not  any  conversation,  how- 
ever sublime,  when  proposed  by  his  majesty,  she  well  knew 
that  her  conceptions  could  serve  to  no  other  purpose  than 
to  give  him  a  little  momentary  amusement ;  that  she  found 
the  conversation  apt  to  languish,  when  not  revived  by 
some  opposition,  and  she  had  ventured  sometimes  to  feign 
a  contrariety  of  sentiments,  in  order  to  give  him  the  plea- 
sure of  refuting  her ;  and  that  she  also  purposed,  by  this 
innocent  artifice,  to  engage  him  on  topics  whence  she  had 
observed,  by  frequent  experience,  that  she  reaped  profit 
and  instruction.  u  And  is  it  so,  sweetheart  ?"  replied  the 
king ;  "  then  we  are  perfect  friends  again."  He  embraced 
her  with  great  affection,  and  sent  her  away  with  assurances 
of  his  protection  and  kindness. 

The  reputation  which  the  duke  of  Norfolk  had  acquired 
in  war,  his  high  rank,  and  his  influence  as  the  head  of  the 
catholic  party,  rendered  that  nobleman  obnoxious  to  Hen- 
ry, who  foresaw  danger,  during  his  son's  minority,  from 
the  attempts  of  so  potent  a  subject.  His  son,  the  earl  of 
Surrey,  had  distinguished  himself  by  every  accomplish- 
ment which  became  a  scholar,  a  courtier,  and  a  soldier : 
but  having  declined  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  the  earl 


200  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

of  Hertford,  and  even  waived  every  other  proposal  of  mar- 
riage, Henry  imagined  that  he  entertained  the  design  of 
espousing  the  lady  Mary.  Actuated  by  those  suspicions, 
the  king  gave  private  orders  to  arrest  Norfolk  and  Surrey, 
who,  on  the  same  day,  were  confined  in  the  tower.  Surrey 
was  accused  of  entertaining  in  his  fanflly  some  Italians, 
who  were  suspected  to  be  spies,  of  corresponding  with  car- 
dinal Pole,  and  of  quartering  on  his  escutcheon  the  arms 
of  Edward  the  Confessor,  a  practice  which  had  been  jus- 
tified by  the  authority  of  the  heralds.  Notwithstanding 
his  eloquent  and  spirited  defence,  a  venal  jury  condemned 
him  for  high  treason  ;  and  their  sentence  was  soon 
after  executed  upon  him.  The  innocence  of  Nor-  /c^g 
folk  was,  if  possible,  still  more  apparent  than  that 
of  his  son ;  yet  the  house  of  peers,  without  trial  or  evidence, 
passed  a  bill  of  attainder  against  him,  and  sent  it  down  to 
the  commons.  The  king  was  now  approaching  fast 
towards  his  end,  and  fearing  lest  Norfolk  should  escape 
him,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  commons  to  expedite  the  bill. 
The  obsequious  commons  obeyed  his  directions  ;  and  the 
king,  having  affixed  the  royal  assent  to  the  bill  by  com- 
missioners, issued  orders  for  the  execution  of  Norfolk  on 
the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  January.  But  news 
being  carried  to  the  tower  that  the  king  himself  had  expi- 
red the  preceding  night,  the  lieutenant  deferred  obeying 
the  warrant ;  and  it  was  not  thought  advisable  by  the 
council  to  begin  a  -  w  reign  with  the  death  of  the  greatest 
nobleman  in  the  kingjgfrn,  who  had  been  condemned  by  a 
sentence  so  unjuit  ancl  tyrannical. 

The  kingle  health  had  long  been  in  a  declining  state ; 
but  for  several  days,  all  those  near  him  plainly  saw  his  end 
approaching,  *yet  no  one  durst  inform  him  of  his  condition. 
At  last  sir  Anthony  Denny  ventured  to  disclose  to  him  the 
fatal  secret,  and  exhorted  him  to  prepare  for  the  event. 
He  expressed  his  resignation,  and  desired  that  Cranmer 
might  be  sent  for ;  but  before  the  prelate  arrived  he  was 
speechless,  though  he  still  seemed  to  retain  his  senses. 
Cranmer  desired  him  to  give  some  sign  of  his  dying  in  the 
faith  of  Christ :  he  squeezed  the  prelate's  hand,  and  im- 
mediately expired,  after  a  reisrn  of  thirty-seven  years  and 
nine  months  ;  and  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

The  king  had  made  his  will  near  a  month  before  his  de- 
mise, in  which  he  confirmed  the  destination  of  parliament, 


EDWARD   VI.  201 

by  leaving  the  crown  first  to  prince  Edward,  then  to  the 
lady  Mary,  next  to  the  lady  Elizabeth.  The  two  princesses 
he  obliged,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  their  title  to  the 
crown,  not  to  marry  without  consent  of  the  council,  which 
he  appointed  for  the  government  of  his  minor  son. 

A  catalogue  of  this  prince's  vices  would  comprehend 
many  of  the  worst  qualities  incidental  to  human  nature: 
violence,  cruelty,  profusion,  rapacity,  injustice,  obstinacy, 
arrogance,  bigotry,  and  presumption  ;  yet,  he  was  sincere, 
open,  gallant,  liberal,  and  capable,  at  least,  of  a  temporary 
friendship  and  attachment.  Notwithstanding  his  cruelty 
and  extortion,  he  seems  to  have  possessed  to  the  last,  in 
some  degree,  the  love  and  affection  of  his  people.  Indeed, 
his  exterior  qualities  were  advantageous,  and  fit  to  capti- 
vate the  multitude;  and  his  magnificence  and  personal 
bravery  rendered  him  illustrious  in  vulgar  eyes. 


CHAP.  XI. 

The  Reigns  of  Edward  VI.,  and  Mary. 

Edward,  at  his  accession,  was  little  more  than  nine  years 
of  age  ;  and  as  his  majority  was  fixed  at  the  completion  of 
his  eighteenth  year,  his  father  had  appointed  sixteen 
executors,  to  whom,  during  the  minority,  he  intrust-  ,  \ .  ' 
ed  the  government  of  the  kingdom,      ^uong  these 
were  Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canter*avm&  lord  Wriothes- 
ley,  chancellor ;  lord  St.  John,  gre^lt;  t0  "lal Vjord  Russel, 
privy-seal;    the  earl  of  Hertford,  css-     "e  *?  *•  \  viscount 
Lisle,  admiral;  Tonstal,  bishop  «™and>  aild  ofl'th  other 
officers  of  state,  and  two  or  thre  fcots  would  stjs.     To 
these  executors,  with  whom  was  in1^11  Prm<^  £ut  al  au- 
thority, were  associated  twelve  couiuseflc^      ^     Assessed 
no  immediate  power,  and  could  only  assist  with  their  ad- 
vice when  any  affair  was  laid  before  them. 

No  sooner  were  the  executors  and  counsellors  met,  than 
it  was  suggested  that  the  government  would  lose  its  digni- 
ty, for  want  of  some  head  to  represent  the  royal  majesty. 
Though  this  was  a  departure  from  the  late  king's  will,  yet 
the  measure  was  carried ;  and  the  choice  fell  of  course  on 
the  earl  of  Hertford,  the  king's  maternal  uncle.  In  their 
next  measure,  they  showed  a  great  deference  to  Henry's 
intentions.  Hertford  was  created  duke  of  Somerset, 
mareschal  and  lord  treasurer ;  Wriothesley,  earl  of  South- 


202  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

ampton ;  the  earl  of  Essex,  marquis  of  Northampton  ; 
viscount  Lisle,  earl  of  Warwick ;  sir  Thomas  Seymour, 
lord  Seymour  of  Sudley,  and  admiral ;  and  sir  Richard 
Rich,  sir  William  Willoughby,  and  sir  Edward  Sheffield, 
were  raised  to  the  dignity  of  barons. 

The  earl  of  Southampton  had  always  been  engaged  in 
an  opposite  party  to  Somerset ;  and  the  latter  taking  ad- 
vantage of  some  illegal  proceedings  of  which  the  former 
was  guilty,  the  council  declared  that  Southampton  had  for- 
feited the  great  seal,  that  a  fine  should  be  imposed  upon 
him,  and  that  he  should  be  confined  to  his  own  house  du- 
ring pleasure.  The  removal  of  Southampton,  however, 
did  not  satisfy  the  ambition  of  Somerset.  He  procured  a 
patent  from  the  young  king-,  by  which  he  entirely  over- 
turned the  will  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  produced  a  total  revo- 
lution in  the  government.  He  named  himself  protector, 
with  full  regal  power,  and  appointed  a  council,  consisting 
of  all  the  former  counsellors,  and  all  the  executors,  except 
Southampton,  reserving  a  power  of  naming  any  other 
counsellors  at  pleasure,  and  of  consulting  with  such  only 
as  he  thought  proper.  The  protector  and  his  council 
were  likewise  empowered  to  act  at  discretion,  and  to  exe- 
cute whatever  they  deemed  for  the  public  service,  without 
incurring  any  penalty  or  forfeiture  whatsoever. 

Somerset  hady^cr  been  regarded  as  a  secret  partisan 
of  the  reform^  a  w  x  he  took  care  that  all  persons  intrust- 
ed with  the/ffe  Iqju  ,ou>cation  should  be  attached  to  the 
same  pro  unjuit  and  ty*  schemes  for  advancing  the  refor- 
mation jng^  health  had  recourse  to  the  counsels  of  Cran- 
mer,  w  veral  days,  all  t1  OI  moderation  and  prudence,  was 
averse  ung,  yet  n'x^&ne-hanges.  A  visitation  was  made  of 
all  the  hsth^v) y*V7 '» glandT  by  a  mixture  of  clergy  and"-" 
laity  ;  and  the  chief*  purport  of  their  instructions  was,  be- 
sides correcting  immoralities  and  irregularities  in  the  cler- 
gy, to  abolish  the  ancient  superstitions,  and  to  bring  the 
discipline  and  worship  somewhat  nearer  the  practice  of  the 
reformed  churches.  The  person  that  opposed,  with  great- 
est authority,  these  advances  towards  reformation,  was 
Gardiner,  bishop  of  Worcester,  who,  though  he  had  not 
obtained  a  place  in  the  council  of  regency,  on  account  of 
late  disgusts  which  he  had  given  to  Henry,  was  entitled  by 
his  age,  experience,  and  capacity,  to  the  highest  trust  and 
confidence  of  his  party.      He  represented  the  perils  o 


EDWARD  VI.  203 

perpetual  innovations,  and  the  necessity  of  adhering  to 
some  system.  For  this  freedom  he  was  sent  to  the  Fleet- 
prison,  and  treated  with  some  severity. 

In  Scotland,  one  Wishart,  a  gentleman  by  birth,  and 
celebrated  for  the  purity  of  his  morals,  and  his  extensive 
learning,  employed  himself  with  great  success  in  preach- 
ing against  the  ancient  superstitions.  Beaton,  the  cardi- 
nal primate,  resolving  to  strike  terror  into  all  other  inno- 
vators, by  the  punishment  of  so  distinguished  a  preacher, 
caused  him  to  be  arrested.  The  unhappy  man  was  con- 
demned to  the  flames  for  heresy,  and  suffered  with  the 
usual  patience.  The  disciples  of  this  martyr,  enraged  at 
the  cruel  execution,  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the  car- 
dinal, who  was  assassinated  soon  after  the  death  of  Wish- 
art.  The  assassins,  being  reinforced  by  their  friends,  to 
the  number  of  a  hundred  and  forty  persons,  prepared  them- 
selves for  the  defence  of  the  cardinal's  palace,  and  craved 
the  assistance  of  Henry,  who  promised  to  take  then.  >nder 
his  protection. 

To  fulfil  this  promise,  and  to  execute  the  project  wrhich 
the  late  king  had  recommended. with  his  dying  breath,  the 
protector  levied  an  army  of  eighteen  thousand  men,  with 
which  he  invaded  Scotland.  The  Scottish  army,  double 
in  number  to  that  of  the  English,  posted  themselves  on 
advantageous  ground,  guarded  by  the  banks  of  the  Eske, 
about  four  miles  from  Edinburgh.  Having  reconnoitered 
their  camp,  Somerset  found  it  difficult  to  make  an  attempt 
upon  it  with  any  probability  of  success.  He  wrote,  there- 
fore, to  Arran,  the  governor  of  Scotland,  and  offered  to 
evacuate  the  kingdom,  provided  the  Scots  would  stipulate 
not  to  contract  the  queen  to  any  foreign  prince,  but  to  de- 
tain her  at  home  till  she  reached  the  age  of  choosing  a 
husband  for  herself.  The  Scots  rejected  the  demand,  and 
quitting  their  camp,  advanced  into  the  plain,  with  the  hope 
of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  English.  Somerset,  pleased 
to  behold  this  movement  of  the  Scottish  army,  ranged  his 
troops  in  order  of  battle.  The  Scots  were  defeated  with 
loss  of  about  ten  thousand  slain,  and  fifteen  hundred 
taken  prisoners ;  while  not  more  than  two  hundred  of  the 
English  fell  in  this  engagement.  This  action  was  called 
battle  of  Pinkney,  from  a  nobleman's  seat  of  that 
riamojn  the  neighbourhood.  t 

Somerset  was  desirous  of  returning  to  England,  where 


204  HISTORY   OP  ENGLAND. 

he  heard  that  some  counsellors,  and  even  his  own  brother, 
the  admiral,  were  carrying  on  cabals  against  his  authority. 
On  his  arrival,  he  summoned  a  parliament,  in  which  all 

laws  were  repealed  that  extended  the  crime   of 
1*548  treason   Dey°nd  the  statute  of  the  twenty-fifth  of 

Edward  III.;  all  laws  enacted  during  the  late 
reign  extending  the  crime  of  felony  ;  all  the  former  laws 
against  Lollardy  or  heresy,  together  with  the  statute  of  the 
six  articles.  By  these  and  other  repeals,  some  dawn, 
both  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  began  to  appear  to  the 
people.  Heresy,  however,  was  stdl  a  capital  crime  by  the 
common  law,  and  was  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  burning. 
Only  there  remained  no  precise  standard  by  which  that 
crime  could  be  defined  or  determined ;  a  circumstance 
which  might  either  be  advantageous  or  hurtful  to  public 
security,  according  to  the  disposition  of  the  judges. 

The  greater  the  progress  that  was  made  towards  a  re- 
formation in  England,  the  further  did  the  protector  find 
himself  from  all  prospect  of  completing  the  union  with 
Scotland  ;  and  the  queen -dowager,  as  well  as  the  clergy, 
became  the  more  averse  to  all  alliance  with  a  nation  which 
had  so  far  departed  from  ancient  principles.  The  hostile 
attempts,  too,  which  the  late  king  and  the  protector  had 
made  against  Scotland,  had  served  only  to  inspire  the 
Scottish  people  with  the  utmost  aversion  to  a  union.  The 
queen- dowager,  finding  these  sentiments  prevail,  called  a 
parliament,  in  which  it  was  proposed  that  the  young  queen 
should  be  sent  to  France.  Accordingly,  the  governor  re- 
ceived a  pension  of  twelve  thousand  livres  a  year,  and  the 
title  of  duke  of  Chatelrauk  ;  and  Mary  embarked  on  board 
some  French  vessels,  arrived  at  Brest,  whence  she  was  con- 
ducted to  Paris,  and  soon  after  betrothed  to  the  dauphin. 

The  mortification  of  Somerset,  on  the  failure  of  his  pro- 
ject for  a  union  with  Scotland,  was  increased  by  the  in- 
trigues of  his  own  family.  His  brother,  lord  Seymour,  a 
man  of  insatiable  ambition  and  great  abilities,  by  his  flat- 
tery and  address,  had  so  insinuated  himself  into  the  good 
graces  of  the  queen-dowager,  that,  forgetting  her  usual 
prudence  and  decency,  she  married  him  so  immediately 
upon  the  demise  of  the  late  king,  that  had  she  soon  proved 
pregnant,  it  might  have  been  doubtful  to  which  husband 
the  child  belonged.  The  credit  and  riches  of  this  alliance 
supported  the  ambition  of  the  admiral ;  but  gave  umbrage 


EDWARD  VI,  205 

to  the  duchess  of  Somerset,  who,  uneasy  that  the  younger 
brother's  wife  should  have  the  precedency,  employed  all 
her  influence  with  her  husband,  first  to  create,  then  to 
widen,  the  breach  between  the  two  brothers. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  admiral  was  a  direct  attack 
upon  his  brother's  authority,  by  procuring  from  the  young 
king  a  letter  to  the  parliament,  desiring  that  Seymour 
might  be  appointed  his  governor;    but,  finding  himself 
prevented  in  his  design  by  the  parliament,  he  was  obliged 
to  submit,  and  to  desire  a  reconciliation  with  his  brother. 
His  ambition,  however,  could  not  be  easily  checked.     His 
spouse,  the  queen-dowager,  died  in  child-bed ;  but  so  far 
from  regarding  this  event  as  an  obstacle  to  his  aspiring 
views,  he  made  his  addresses  to  the  lady  Elizabeth ;  and 
as  Henry  had  excluded  his  daughters  from  all  hopes  of 
succession,  if  they  married  without  the  consent  of  his  ex- 
ecutors, which  Seymour  could  never  hope  to  obtain,  he  is 
supposed  to  have  aimed  at  effecting  his  purpose  by  the 
most  criminal  means.     He  had  brought  over  to  his  party 
many  of  the  principal  nobility ;  and  it  was  supposed,  that 
he  could  on  occasion  muster  an  army  of  ten  thousand 
men,  composed  of  his  servants,  tenants,  and  retainers. 
He  had  already  provided  arms  for  their  use ;  and  having 
engaged  in  his  interests  sir  John  Sharington,  a  corrupt 
man,  master  of  the  mint  at  Bristol,  he  flattered  himself 
that  money  would  not  be  wanting.     Somerset  was  well 
apprised  of  all  these  alarming  circumstances,  and  endea- 
voured by  the  most  friendly  expedients,  by  intreaty,  reason, 
and  even  by  heaping  new  favours  upon  his  brother,  to 
make  him  desist  from  his  dangerous  councils  ;  but  finding 
all  endeavours  ineffectual,  he  was  easily  persuaded,  by  the 
earl  of  Warwick,  to  deprive  him  of  the  office  of  admiral, 
and  to  commit  him  to  the  tower. 

Some  of  his  accomplices  were  also  taken  into  custody; 
and  three  privy  counsellors  being  sent  to  examine  them, 
made  a  report  that  they  had  met  with  very  full  and  impor- 
tant discoveries.  Yet  still  the  protector  suspended  the 
blow,  and  showed  a  reluctance  to  ruin  his  brother;  but  a* 
Seymour  made  no  other  answer  to  all  his  friendly  offers, 
than  menaces  and  defiances,  he  ordered  a  charge  to  be 
drawn  up  against  him,  consisting  of  thirty-three  articles, 
and  the  whole  to  be  laid  before  the  privy  council.  It  is 
pretended,  that  every  particular  was  so  incontestjjMjr  pr*- 
13 


J06  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ved,  both  by  witnesses  and  his  own  hand-writingr  that 
there  was  no  room  for  doubt ;  yet  did  the  council  think 
proper  to  go  in  a  body  to  the  tower,  in  order  more  fully 
to  examine  the  prisoner.  We  shall  indeed  conclude,  if  we 
carefully  examine  the  charge,  that  many  of  the  articles 
were  general,  and  scarcely  capable  of  any  proof;  many 
of  them,  if  true,  susceptible  of  a  more  favourable  interpre- 
tation ;  and  that  though,  on  the  whole,  Seymour  appears 
to  have  been  a  dangerous  subject,  he  had  not  advanced 
far  in  those  treasonable  projects  imputed  to  him. 

But  the  administration  had  at  that  time  an  easy  instru- 
ment of  vengeance  in  the  parliament ;  and  a  session  being 
held,  Seymour  was  proceeded  against  by  bill  of  attainder. 
The  bill  was  passed  in  the  upper  house  without  undergo- 
ing any  objections;  but  in  the  house  of  commons,  some 
members  objected  against  the  whole  method  of  proceeding 
by  bill  of  attainder  passed  in  absence,  and  insisted  that 
a  formal  trial  should  he  given  to  every  man  before  his 
condemnation.     At  length,  however,  the  bill  passed ;  and 
the  sentence  was  soon  after  executed,  and  the  pri- 
1549  soner  Denea^e(i  on  Tower-hill.     The  warrant  was 
signed  by  Somerset  himself,  who  was  much  blamed 
on  account  of  the  violence  of  these  proceedings. 

In  this  session,  the  translation  of  the  liturgy,  as  well  as 
of  the  scriptures,  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  was  established  by 
parliament ;  and  an  act  was  also  passed,  permitting  the  mar- 
riage of  priests,  who  had  hitherto  been  enjoined  celibacy. 

Scarcely  any  institution  can  be  considered  less  favoura- 
ble to  the  interests  of  mankind,  than  that  of  monks  and 
friars.  The  convents,  however,  were  a  sure  resource  to 
the  poor  and  indigent ;  and  though  the  alms  which  they 
distributed  gave  too  much  encouragement  to  idleness,  yet 
the  suppression  of  them  was  felt  and  regretted.  These 
grievances  were  at  this  time  heightened  by  other  causes. 
The  arts  of  manufacture  were  much  more  advanced  in 
other  European  countries  than  in  England ;  and  even  in 
England  these  arts  had  made  greater  progress  than  the 
'knowledge  of  agriculture.  A  great  demand  arose  for  wool 
both  abroad  and  at  home  ;  pasturage  was  found  more  pro- 
fitable than  unskilful  tillage ;  whole  estates  were  laid  waste 
by  enclosures ;  and  a  decay  of  people,  as  well  as  a  dimi- 
mution  of  the  former  plenty,  was  remarked  in  the  kingdom. 
Thetgeneral  increase  also  of  gold  and  silver  in  Europe, 


EDWARD   VI.  207 

after  the  discovery  of  the  West-Indies,  had  a  tendency  to  in- 
flame these  complaints.  The  growing  demand  in  the  more 
commercial  countries  had  heightened  every  where  the 
price  of  commodities,  which  could  easily  be  transported 
thither;  but  in  England,  the  labour  of  men,  who  could 
not  so  easily  change  their  habitation,  still  remained  nearly 
at  the  ancient  rates  ;  and  the  poor  complained  that  they 
could  no  longer  gain  a  subsistence  by  their  industry ; 
which,  as  it  was  difficult  for  them  to  shake  off  their  former 
habits  of  indolence,  they  were,  in  fact,  unwilling  to  employ. 

Loud  complaints  were  heard  in  every  part  of  England ; 
and  these  were  succeeded  by  acts  of  open  violence.  The 
rising  was  simultaneous,  as  if  a  general  conspiracy  had 
been  formed  by  the  people.  The  commotions  in  Hamp- 
shire, Sussex,  Rent,  and  some  other  counties,  were  quiet- 
ed by  mild  expedients  ;  but  the  disorders  in  Devonshire 
and  Norfolk  threatened  more  dangerous  consequences. 
In  Devonshire,  the  rebels,  who  amounted  to  ten  thousand, 
were  attacked  and  defeated  near  Exeter  by  lord  Russel, 
who  had  been  sent  to  disperse  them.  In  Norfolk,  the  in- 
surgents amounted  to  twenty  thousand,  and  were  headed 
by  one  Ret,  a  tanner.  The  protector  atfected  popularity, 
and  cared  not  to  appear  in  person  against  the  rebels ;  he 
therefore  sent  the  earl  of  Warwick,  at  the  head  of  six 
thousand  men,  levied  for  the  wars  against  Scotland ;  by 
which  means  he  afforded  his  mortal  enemy  an  opportunity 
of  increasing  his  reputation  and  character.  Warwick, 
having  tried  some  skirmishes  with  the  rebels,  at  last  made 
a  general  attack  upon  them,  and  put  them  to  flight.  Two 
thousand  fell  in  the  action  and  pursuit;  and  Ret  was 
hanged  at  Norwich. 

But  though*  these  insurrections  were  quickly  subdued, 
they  were  attended  with  serious  consequences  to  the  fo- 
reign interests  of  the  nation.  The  Scots  took  the  fortress 
of  Broughty,  and  compelled  the  English  to  evacuate 
Haddington  ;  and  the  French  recovered  all  the  conquests 
which  Henry  had  made  on  the  continent,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Boulogne. 

Somerset,  despairing  of  the  assistance  of  the  emperor, 
was  inclined  to  conclude  a  peace  with  France  and  Scot- 
land ;  but  his  enemies  in  the  council  opposed  all  proposals 
for  a  pacification.  Lord  St.  John,  president  of  the  coun- 
cil, the  earls  of  Warwick,  Southampton,  and  Arundel, 


1 


208  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

with  five  members  more,  met  at  Ely-house  ;  and  assuming 
to  themselves  the  whole  power  of  the  council,  began  to  act 
independently  of  the  protector,  whom  they  represented  as 
the  author  of  every  public  grievance  and  misfortune.  They 
wrote  letters  to  the  chief  nobility  and  gentry  of  England, 
informing  them  of  the  present  measures,  and  requiring 
their  assistance  ;  they  sent  for  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of 
London,  and  enjoined  them  to  obey  their  order,  without 
regard  to  any  contrary  orders  which  they  might  receive 
from  the  duke  of  Somerset.  They  laid  the  same  injunc- 
tions on  the  lieutenant  of  the  tower,  who  expressed  his 
resolution  to  comply  with  them.  Other  lords  and  gentle- 
men joined  the  malcontent  counsellors. 

Somerset  was  sent  to  the  tower ;  and  articles  of  indict- 
ment were  preferred  against  him.  He  was  prevailed  on 
to  confess  on  his  knees,  before  the  council,  all  the  arti- 
cles of  charge  against  him ;  and  he  even  subscribed  this 
confession.  The  paper  was  given  into  parliament,  who, 
after  sending  a  committee  to  examine  him,  and  hear  him 
acknowledge  it  to  be  genuine,  passed  a  vote  by  which  they 
deprived  him  of  all  his  offices,  and  fined  him  two  thousand 
pounds  a  year  in  land.  Lord  St.  John  was  created  trea- 
surer in  hie  place,  and  Warwick  earl-marshal.  The  pro- 
secution against  him  was  carried  no  farther ;  and  his  fine 
was  remitted  by  the  king.  Warwick,  thinking  that  he 
was  now  sufficiently  humbled,  readmitted  him  into  the 
council,  and  even  agreed  to  an  alliance  between  their 
families,  by  the  marriage  of  his  own  son,  lord  Dudley, 
with  the  lady  Jane  Seymour,  daughter  of  Somerset. 
When  Warwick  and  the  council  of  regency  begatf  to  ex- 
ercise their  power,  they  found  themselves  embar- 
J^l  P^  rassed  by  the  wars  with  France  and  Scotland  :  and 
therefore  a  pacification  was  effected,  by  which 
France  bound  herself  to  pay  four  hundred  thousand  crowns 
for  the  restitution  of  Boulogne ;  and  the  English  agreed 
to  restore  to  Scotland  Lauder  and  Douglas,  and  to  demo- 
lish the  fortresses  of  Roxburgh  and  Eymouth. 

In  all  other  respects,  than  an  intention  of  marrying  the 
king  to  a  daughter  of  the  king  of  France,  a  violent 
-1-.*  persecutor   of  the   protestants,   the   council   was 
steady  in  promoting  the  reformation.     Several  pre- 
lates still  adhered  to  the  Romish  communion,  and  were 
deprived  of  their  sees  on  pretence  of  disobedience.     The 


EDWARD   VI. 

princess  Mary  declared  herself  willing  to  endure  death 
rather  than  relinquish  the  ancient  religion  ;  and  Edward, 
who  had  been  educated  in  a  violent  abhorrence  of  the 
mass  and  other  popish  rites,  lamented  his  sister's  obstina- 
cy, and  bewailed  his  fate  in  suffering  her  to  continue  in 
such  an  abominable  mode  of  worship. 

Various  schemes  attempted  by  the  council  for  promoting 
industry  were  likely  to  prove  abortive,  by  the  ambition  of 
Warwick.  The  last  earl  of  Northumberland  died  without 
issue ;  and  as  sir  Thomas  Piercy,  his  brother,  had  been 
attainted  in  the  late  reign,  Warwick  procured  a  grant  of 
the  estate,  with  the  title  of  Duke  of  Northumberland. 

Finding  that  Somerset,  though  degraded  from  his  dig- 
nity, still  enjoyed  a  considerable  share  of  popularity, 
Northumberland  determined  to  ruin  the  man  whom  he  re- 
garded as  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  attainment  of  his  am- 
bition. The  alliance  between  the  two  families  had  produ- 
ced no  cordial  union.  Northumberland  secretly  gained 
many  of  the  friends  and  servants  of  that  unhappy  noble- 
man ;  and  the  unguarded  Somerset  often  broke  out  into 
menacing  expressions,  which  his  treacherous  confidants 
carried  to  his  enemy. 

In  one  night,  the  duke  of  Somerset,  lord  Grey,  David 
and  John  Seymour,  Hammond  and  Neudigate,  two  of  the 
duke's  servants,  sir  Ralph  Vane,  and  sir  Thomas  Palmer, 
were  arrested,  and  committed  to  custody.  Next  day  the 
duchess  of  Somerset,  with  her  favourites,  and  some  others, 
were  thrown  into  prison.  Sir  Thomas  Palmer,  who  had 
all  along  acted  as  a  spy  upon  Somerset,  accused  him  of 
having  formed  a  design  of  raising  an  insurrection  in  the 
north;  and  that  he  had  once  projected  the  murder  of 
Northumberland,  Northampton,  and  Pembroke.  Somer- 
set was  brought  to  his  trial  before  the  marquis  of  Win- 
chester, created  high-steward.  Twenty-seven  peers  com- 
posed the  jury,  among  whom  were  Northumberland,  Pem- 
broke, and  Northampton,  whom  decency  should  have  hin- 
dered from  acting  as  judges  in  the  trial  of  a  man  that  ap- 
peared to  be  their  capital  enemy.  Somerset  was  accused 
of  high-treason  on  account  of  the  projected  insurrections, 
and  of  felony  in  laying  a  design  to  murder  privy-counsel- 
lors. The  proof  seems  to  have  been  lame  in  regard  to  the 
treasonable  part  of  the  charge  ;  but  the  prisoner  himself 
confessed  that  he  had  expressed  his  intention  of  murdering 
18* 


!U0  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

• 

Northumberland  and  the  other  lords  ;  and  he  was  accord- 
ingly condemned  to  death  for  felony. 

Care  had  been  taken  to  prepossess    the   young  king 
against  his  uncle ;  and  lest  he  should  relent,  no  access 
was  given  to  any  of  Somerset's  friends.     The  prisoner  was 
brought  to  the  scaffold  on  Tower-hill,  amidst  great  crowds 
of  spectators,  who  bore  him  such  sincere  kindness 
*'e>xA  that  they  entertained  to  the  last  moment  the  fond 
hopes  of  his  pardon.     Many  of  them  rushed  in  to 
dip  their  handkerchiefs  in  his  blood,  which  they  long  pre- 
served as  a  precious  relick  ;  and  some  of  them  soon  after, 
when  Northumberland  met  with  a  like  doom,  upbraided 
him  with  this  cruelty,  and  displayed  to  him  these  symbols 
of  his  crime. 

The  day  after  the  execution  of  Somerset,  a  session  of 
parliament  was  held,  in  which  farther  advances  were 
made  towards  the  establishment  of  the  reformation.  The 
new  liturgy  was  authorised  ;  and  penalties  were  enacted 
against  all  those  who  absented  themselves  from  public 
worship. 

Tonstal,  bishop  of  Durham,  less  eminent  for  the  dignity 
of  his  see,  than  for  his  own  personal  merit,  had  opposed, 
by  his  vote  and  authority,  all  innovations  in  religion ;  but 
as  soon  as  they  were  enacted,  he  had  always  submitted 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  had  conformed  to  every  theolo- 
gical system  which  had  been  established.  The  general 
regard  paid  to  his  character  had  protected  him  from  any 
severe  treatment  during  the  administration  of  Somerset : 
but  when  Northumberland  gained  the  ascendant,  he  was 
thrown  into  prison  ;  and  as  that  rapacious  nobleman  had 
formed  a  design  of  seizing  the  revenues  of  the  see  of  Dur- 
ham, and  of  acquiring  to  himself  a  principality  in  the 
northern  counties,  he  was  resolved  to  deprive  Tonstal  of 
his  bishopric.  A  bill  of  attainder,  therefore,  on  pretence 
of  misprision  of  treason,  was  introduced  into  the  house  of 
peers  against  that  prelate,  and  passed  with  slight  opposi- 
tion ;  but  when  the  bill  was  sent  down  to  the  commons, 
they  required  that  witnesses  should  be  examined,  that 
Tonstal  should  be  allowed  to  defend  himself,  and  that  he 
should  be  confronted  with  his  accusers.  These  demands 
being  refused,  they  rejected  the  bill. 

This  equity,  so  unusual  in  the  parliament  during  that  age, 
was  ascribed  by  Northumberland  to  the  prevalence  of  So- 


EDWARD  VI.  211 

merset's  faction ;  and  it  was  therefore  resolved  to  dissolve 
the  parliament,  and  to  summon  a  new  one.  This  expedi- 
ent answered  Northumberland's  expectations.  As  Ton- 
stal  had,  in  the  interval,  been  deprived  of  his  bishopric  in 
an  arbitrary  manner,  by  the  sentence  of  lay-commissioners 
appointed  to  try  him,  the  see  of  Durham  was  by  act  of 
parliament  divided  into  two  bishoprics,  which  had  certain 
portions  of  the  revenue  assigned  them.  The  regalties  of 
the  see,  which  included  the  jurisdiction  of  a  count  pala- 
tine, were  given  by  the  king  to  Northumberland. 

The  young  prince  showed  a  disposition  to  frugality ; 
but  such  had  been  the  rapacity  of  the  courtiers,  that  the 
crown  owed  about  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  ;  and 
as  the  king's  health  was  declining  very  fast,  the  emptiness 
of  the  exchequer  was  an  obstacle  to  the  ambitious  projects 
of  Northumberland.  That  nobleman  represented  to  Ed- 
ward, that  his  two  sisters,  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  had  been 
declared  illegitimate  by  act  of  parliament ;  that  the  queen 
of  Scots  stood  excluded  by  the  late  king's  will ;  that  the 
certain  consequence  of  his  sister  Mary's  succession,  or  that 
of  the  queen  of  Scots,  was  the  abolition  of  the  protestant 
religion ;  that  the  succession  next  devolved  on  the  mar- 
chioness of  Dorset,  elder  daughter  of  the  French  queen, 
and  the  duke  of  Suffolk ;  that  the  next  heir  of  the  mar- 
chioness was  the  lady  Jane  Grey,  a  lady  of  the  most-ami- 
able character,  accomplished  by  the  best  education,  both  in 
literature  and  religion,  and  every  way  worthy  of  a  crown; 
and  that  even  if  her  title  by  blood  were  doubtful,  which 
there  was  no  just  reason  to  pretend,  the  king  was  posses- 
sed of  the  same  power  that  his  father  enjoyed,  and  might 
leave  her  the  crown  by  letters  patent.  These  reasonings 
made  impression  on  the  young  prince  ;  and,  above  all,  his 
zealous  attachment  to  the  protestant  religion  made  him 
apprehend  the  consequences,  if  so  bigoted  a  catholic  as 
his  sister  Mary  should  succeed  to  the  throne.  And  though 
he  bore  an  affection  to  the  lady  Elizabeth,  who  was  liable 
to  no  such  objection,  means  were  found  to  persuade  him 
that  he  could  not  exclude  the  one  sister  on  account  of  ille- 
gitimacy, without  also  excluding  the  other. 

Northumberland,  finding  that  his  arguments  were  likely 
to  operate  on  the  king,  began  to  prepare  the  other  parts 
of  his  scheme.  Two  sons  of  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  by  a 
second  marriage,  having  died  this  season  of  the  sweating 


212  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

sickness,  that  title  was  extinct ;  and  Northumberland  en- 
gaged the  king  to  bestow  it  on  the  marquis  of  Dorset.  By- 
means  of  this  favour,  and  of  others  which  he  conferred 
upon  him,  he  persuaded  the  new  duke  of  Suffolk  and  the 
duchess  to  give  then  daughter,  the  lady  Jane,  in  marriage 
to  his  fourth  son,  the  lord  Guildford  Dudley.  In  order  to 
fortify  himself  by  farther  alliances,  he  negotiated  a  mar- 
riage between  the  lady  Catharine  Grey,  second  daughter 
of  Suffolk,  and  lord  Herbert,  eldest  son  of  the  earl  of 
Pembroke.  He  also  married  his  own  daughter' to  lord 
Hastings,  eldest  son  of  the  earl  of  Huntingdon.  These 
marriages  were  solemnized  with  great  pomp  and  festivity ; 
and  the  people,  who  hated  Northumberland,  could  not 
forbear  expressing  their  indignation  at  seeing  such  public 
demonstrations  of  joy  during  the  languishing  state  of  the 
young  prince's  health.  , 

The  appearance  of  symptoms  of  a  consumption  in  Ed- 
ward, made  Northumberland  more  intent  on  the  execution 
of  his  project.  He  removed  all  except  his  own  emissaries 
from  about  the  king ;  and  by  artifice  he  prevailed  on  the 
young  prince  to  give  his  final  consent  to  the  settlement 
projected.  Sir  Edward  Montague,  chief-justice  of  the 
common  pleas,  sir  John  Baker,  and  sir  Thomas  Bromley, 
two  judges,  were  accordingly  summoned  to  the  council, 
where,  after  the  minutes  of  the  intended  deed  were  read 
to  them,  the  king  required  them  to  draw  them  up  in  the 
form  of  letters  patent.  They  hesitated  to  obey,  and  de 
sired  time  to  consider.  The  more  they  reflected,  the 
greater  danger  they  found  in  compliance.  The  settlement' 
©f  the  crown  by  Henry  the  Eighth  had  been  made  in  con- 
sequence of  an  act  of  parliament ;  and  by  another  act, 
passed  in  the  beginning  of  this  reign,  it  was  declared  trea- 
son in  any  of  the  heirs,  their  aiders  or  abettors,  to  change 
the  order  of  succession.  The  judges  pleaded  these  rea- 
sons before  the  council ;  and  they  were  reduced  to  great 
difficulties  between  the  dangers  from  the  law,  and  those 
which  arose  from  the  violence  of  present  power  and  autho- 
rity. At  last,  Montague  proposed  an  expedient,  which 
satisfied  both  his  brethren  and  the  counsellors.  He  desired 
that  a  special  commission  should  be  passed  by  the  king 
and  council,  requiring  the  judges  to  draw  a  patent  for  the 
new  settlement  of  the  crown ;  and  that  a  pardon  sheuM 


EDWARD  vr.  213 

be  immediately  after  granted  them  for  any  offence  which 
they  might  have  incurred  by  their  compliance. 

When  the  patent  was  drawn,  and  brought  to  the  bishop 
of  Ely,  chancellor,  in  order  to  have  the  great  seal  affixed 
to  it,  the  prelate  required  that  all  the  judges  should  previ- 
ously sign  it.  The  chancellor  next  required,  for  his  greater 
security,  that  all  the  privy-counsellors  should  set  their 
hands  to  the  patent ;  and  the  intrigues  of  Northumberland, 
or  the  fear  of  his  violence,  were  so  prevalent,  that  the  coun- 
sellors complied  with  this  demand.  Cranmer  alone  hesi- 
tated during  some  time,  but  at  last  yielded  to  the  earnest 
and  pathetic  intreaties  of  the  king. 

After  this  settlement  was  made,  with  so  many  inauspi- 
cious circumstances,  Edward  visibly  declined  every  day ; 
and,  to  make  matters  worse,  his  physicians  were  dismissed 
by  Northumberland's  advice,  and  by  an  order  of  council ; 
and  he  was  put  into  the  hands  of  an  ignorant  woman,  in 
a  little  time  to  restore  him  to  his  former  state  of  health. 
After  the  use  of  her  medicines,  all  his  bad  symptoms  in- 
creased to  the  most  violent  degree ;  and  he  expired  at 
Greenwich,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
seventh  of  his  reign. 

The  English  historians  dwell  with  pleasure  on  the  ex- 
cellent qualities  of  this  young  prince ;  whom  the  flattering- 
promises  of  hope,  joined  to  many  real  virtues,  had  made 
an  object  of  tender  affection  to  the  public.  He  possessed 
mildness  of  disposition,  with  application  to  study  and  busi- 
ness, and  a  capacity  to  learn  and  judge,  with  an  attach- 
ment to  equity  and  justice. 

During  the  reign  of  Edward,  the  princess  Mary  had 
been  regarded  as  his  lawful  successor ;  and  though  the 
protestants  dreaded  the  effects  of  her  prejudices, 
the  extreme  hatred  universally  entertained  against  /-»« 
the  Dudleys,  who,  it  was  foreseen,  would  reign 
under  the  name  of  Jane,  was  more  than  sufficient  to  coun- 
terbalance, even  with  that  party,  the  attachment  to  reli- 
gion.    This  last  attempt  to  violate  the  order  of  succes- 
sion, had  displayed  Northumberland's  ambition  and  injus- 
tice in  a  full  light. 

Northumberland,  sensible  of  the  opposition  which  he 
must  expect,  had  carefully  concealed  the  destination  made 
by  the  king ;  and,  in  order  to  bring  the  two  princesses  into 
his  power,  he  had  the  art  to  engage  the  council,  before 


214  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Edward's  death,  to  write  to  them  in  that  prince's  name, 
desiring  their  attendance,  on  pretence  that  his  infirm  state 
of  health  required  the  assistance  of  their  counsel,  and  the 
consolation  of  their  eompany.  Edward  expired  before 
their  arrival ;  but  Northumberland,  in  order  to  make  the 
princesses  fall  into  the  snare,  kept  the  king's  death  still 
secret ;  and  the  lady  Mary  had  already  reached  Hoddes- 
den,  within  half  a  day's  journey  of  the  court.  Happily, 
the  earl  of  Arundel  sent  her  private  intelligence  both  of 
her  brother's  death  and  of  the  conspiracy  formed  against 
her.  She  immediately  made  haste  to  retire  ;  and  she  ar- 
rived at  Framlingham,  in  Suffolk,  where  she  purposed  to 
embark  and  escape  to  Flanders,  in  case  she  should  find  it 
impossible  to  defend  her  right  of  succession.  She  wrote 
letters  to  the  nobility  and  most  considerable  gentry  in 
every  county  of  England,  commanding  them  to  assist  her 
in  the  defence  of  her  crown  and  person ;  and  she  des- 
patched a  message  to  the  council,  requiring  them  imme- 
diately to  give  orders  for  proclaiming  her  in  London. 

Northumberland  found  that  farther  dissimulation  was 
fruitless  ;  and  he  approached  the  lady  Jane  with  the  re- 
spect due  to  a  sovereign.  Jane  was  in  a  great  measure 
ignorant  of  the  transactions  which  had  taken  place ;  and 
it  was  with  equal  grief  and  surprise  that  she  received  the 
intelligence.  She  was  a  lady  of  an  amiable  person,  an 
engaging  disposition,  and  accomplished  talents.  Her 
heart,  full  of  a  passion  for  literature  and  the  elegant  arts, 
and  of  tenderness  towards  her  husband,  who  was  deserv- 
ing of  her  affections,  had  no  room  for  ambition.  She  even 
refused  to  accept  the  crown,  and  pleaded  the  right  of  the 
two  princesses ;  and  she  at  last  yielded  rather  to  the  in- 
treaties  than  the  reasons  of  her  father  and  husband. 

Orders  were  given  by  the  council  to  proclaim  Jane 
throughout  the  kingdom  ;  but  these  orders  were  executed 
only  in  London  and  the  neighbourhood.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  people  of  Suffolk  paid  their  attendance  on  Mary. 
They  were  much  attached  to  the  reformed  religion ;  and 
as  she  assured  them  that  she  never  meant  to  change  the 
laws  of  Edward,  they  enlisted  in  her  cause  with  zeal  and 
affection.  The  nobility  and  gentry  daily  flocked  to  her, 
and  brought  her  reinforcements.  Even  a  fleet  which  had 
been  sent  by  Northumberland  to  lie  off  the  coast  of  Suf- 


MARY.  215 

talk,  being  forced  into  Yarmouth  by  a  storm,  was  engaged 
to  declare  in  her  favour. 

Northumberland,  hitherto  blinded  by  ambition,  saw  at 
last  the  danger  gather  round  him,  and  knew  not  which 
way  to  turn.  He  had  levied  forces  which  were  assembled 
at  London ;  but  dreading  the  cabals  of  the  courtiers  and 
counsellors,  whose  compliance  he  knew  had  been  entirely 
the  result  of  fear  or  artifice,  he  was  resolved  to  keep  near 
the  person  of  the  lady  Jane,  and  send  Suffolk  to  command 
the  army.  But  the  counsellors,  who  wished  to  remove  him, 
working  on  the  filial  tenderness  of  Jane,  magnified  to  her 
the  dange'r  to  which  her  father  would  be  exposed ;  and 
represented  that  Northumberland,  who  had  gained  repu- 
tation by  formerly  suppressing  a  rebellion  in  those  parts, 
was  more  proper  to  command  in  that  enterprise.  The 
duke  himself,  who  knew  the  slender  capacity  of  Suffolk, 
began  to  think  that  he  only  was  able  to  encounter  the 
present  danger ;  and  he  agreed  to  take  the  command  of 
the  troops.  The  counsellors  attended  him  at  his  depar- 
ture with  the  highest  protestations  of  attachment,  and  none 
more  than  Arundel,  his  mortal  enemy.  As  he  went  along, 
he  remarked  the  disaffection  of  the  people,  which  fore- 
boded a  fatal  issue  to  his  ambitious  hopes.  "  Many,"  said 
he  to  lord  Gray,  "  come  out  to  look  at  us,  but  I  find  not 
one  who  cries  God  speed  you !" 

The  duke  had  no  sooner  reached  St.  Edmondsbuiy, 
than  he  found  his  army,  which  did  not  exceed  six  thousand 
men,  too  weak  to  encounter  the  queen's,  which  amounted 
to  double  the  number.  The  counsellors  immediately  laid 
hold  of  the  opportunity  to  free  themselves  from  confine- 
ment, and  to  return  to  the  duty  which  they  owed  to  their 
lawful  sovereign.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  of  London 
discovered  great  alacrity  in  obeying  the  orders  they  re- 
ceived to  proclaim  Mary.  The  people  expressed  their 
approbation  by  shouts  of  applause.  Even  Suffolk,  who 
commanded  in  the  tower,  finding  resistance  fruitless,  open- 
ed the  gates,  and  declared  for  the  queen.  The  lady  Jane, 
after  the  vain  pageantry  of  wearing  a  crown  during  ten 
days,  returned  to  a  private  life  with  more  satisfaction  than 
she  felt  when  the  royalty  was  tendered  to  her ;  and  the 
messengers  who  were  sent  to  Northumberland  with  orders 
to  lay  down  his  arms,  found  that  he  had  despaired  of  suc- 
cess, was  deserted  by  all  his  followers,  and  had  already 


I 


216  HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

proclaimed  the  queen,  with  exterior  marks  of  joy  and 
satisfaction. 

The  people  every  where,  on  the  queen's  approach  to 
London,  gave  sensible  expressions  of  their  loyalty  and  at- 
tachment ;  and  the  lady  Elizabeth  met  her  at  the  head  of 
a  thousand  horse.  The  queen  gave  orders  for  taking  into 
custody  the  duke  of  Northumberland,  who  fell  on  his  knees 
to  the  earl  of  Arundel,  sent  to  arrest  him,  and  abjectly 
begged  his  life.  At  the  same  time  were  committed  the 
earl  of  Warwick,  his  eldest  son ;  lord  Ambrose  and  lord 
Henry  Dudley,  two  of  his  younger  sons  ;  sir  Andrew  Dud- 
ley, his  brother ;  the  marquis  of  Northampton,  the  earl  of 
Huntingdon,  sir  Thomas  Palmer,  and  sir  John  Gates. 
The  queen  afterwards  confined  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  lady 
Jane  Gray,  and  lord  Guilford  Dudley.  But  Mary  was 
desirous,  in  the  beginning  of  her  reign,  to  acquire  popu- 
larity by  the  appearance  of  clemency ;  and  because  the 
counsellors  pleaded  constraint  as  an'  excuse  for  their  trea- 
son, she  extended  her  pardon  to  most  of  them.  Suffolk 
owed  his  liberty  to  the  contempt  of  his  incapacity ;  but- 
Northumberland  was  too  powerful  and  dangerous  to  be 
pardoned;  he  pleaded  guilty,  and  was  executed.  Sir 
Thomas  Palmer  and  sir  John  Gates  suffered  with  him. 
Sentence  was  also  pronounced  against  the  lady  Jane  and 
lord  Guilford;  but  the  execution  of  it  was  at  present 
deferred. 

The  joy  arising  from  the  succession  of  the  lawful  heir 
did  not  prevent  the  people  from  feeling  great  anxiety 
concerning  the  state  of  religion  ;  and  the  nation  dreaded 
not  only  the  abolition,  but  the  persecution  of  the  establish- 
ed religion,  from  the  zeal  of  Mary ;  and  it  was  not  long 
before  she  discovered  her  intentions.  Gardiner,  Bonner, 
Tonstal,  and  others,  were  reinstated  in  their  sees ;  and 
Cranmer,  whose  merits  to  the  queen  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  had  been  considerable,  was  tried  for  the  part  which 
he  had  acted  in  concurring  with  lady  Jane,  and  pronounced 
guilty  of  high  treason.  The  execution  of  the  sentence, 
however,  did  not  follow  ;  and  Cranmer  was  reserved  for  a 
more  cruel  punishment. 

Several  English  protestants,  foreseeing  a  persecution  of 
the  reformers,  took  shelter  in  foreign  parts ;  and  affairs 
wore  a  dismal  aspect  for  the  reformation.  Tn  opening  the 
parliament,  the  court  showed  a  contempt  of  the  laws,  by 


MARY.  217 

celebrating  before  the  two  houses  a  mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  Latin  tongue,  attended  with  all  the  ancient  rites 
and  ceremonies,  though  abolished  by  act  of  parliament. 
Taylor,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  having  refused  to  kneel  at  this 
service,  was  severely  handled,  and  was  violently  thrust 
out  of  the  house.  The  queen,  however,  still  retained  the 
title  of  supreme  head  of  the  church  of  England;  and  it 
was  generally  pretended,  that  the  intention  of  the  court 
was  only  to  restore  religion  to  the  same  condition  in  which 
it  had  been  left  by  Henry ;  but  that  the  other  abuses  of 
popery,  which  were  the  most  grievous  to  the  nation,  would 
never  be  revived. 

The  first  bill  passed  by  the  parliament  was  of  a  popular 
nature,  and  abolished  every  species  of  treason  not  con- 
tained in  the  statute  of  Edward  III.,  and  every  species  of 
felony  that  did  not  subsist  before  the  first  of  Henry  the 
Eighth.  All  the  statutes  of  king  Edward,  with  regard  to 
religion,  were  repealed  by  one  vote.  The  attainder  of  the 
duke  of  Norfolk  was  reversed  ;  and  this  act  of  justice  was 
more  reasonable,  than  the  declaring  of  that  attainder  inva- 
lid, without  farther  authority. 

0  Notwithstanding  the  compliance  of  the  two  houses  with 
the  queen's  inclinations,  they  were  determined  not  to  sub- 
mit tamely  to  her  pleasure  in  the  choice  of  a  husband. 
There  were  three  matches,  concerning  which  it  was  sup- 
posed that  Mary  had  deliberated  after  her  accession.  The 
first  person  proposed  to  her  was  the  earl  of  Devonshire, 
whose  person  and  address  had  visibly  gained  on  the 
queen's  affections ;  but  that  nobleman  neglected  the  ad- 
vantage, and  attached  himself  to  the  lady  Elizabeth, 
whose  youth  and  agreeable  conversation  he  preferred  to 
all  the  power  and  grandeur  of  her  sister ;  the  second  was 
cardinal  Pole,  who  had  never  taken  priest's  orders,  but 
who,  having  contracted  habits  of  study  and  retirement, 
was  represented  to  the  queen  as  unsuitable  to  the  business 
of  a  court;  the  third  was  Philip,  son  of  the  emperor 
Charles  V. ;  and  this  alliance  was  not  only  desired  by  the 
emperor,  but  strenuously  recommended  by  Gardiner,  who 
had  become  prime  minister,  and  was  readily  embraced  by 
Mary  herself.  The  commons  were  alarmed  that  the  queen 
had  resolved  to  contract  a  foreign  alliance  ;  and  they  sent 
a  committee  to  remonstrate  in  strong  terms  against  that 
dangerous  measure.  To  prevent  farther  applications  of  the 
19 


218  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

same  kind,  she  thonght  proper  to  dissolve  the  parliament , 
After  the  parliament  was  dismissed,  the  new  laws  with 
regard  to  religion  were  openly  put  in  execution.    The  mass 
was  every  where  re-established;  and  marriage  was  de- 
clared to  he  incompatible  with  any  spiritual  office.     This 
violent  and  sudden  change  of  religion  inspired  the  protes- 
tants  with  great  discontent ;  but  the  Spanish  match 
l'rx4  was  a  point  of  more  general  concern,  and  diffused 
•        universal  apprehensions  for  the  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  nation.      To  obviate  all  clamour,  the 
articles  of  marriage  were  drawn  as  favourably  as  possible 
for  the  interest  and  security,  and  even  grandeur,  of  Eng- 
land.    It  was  agreed  that  though  Philip  should  have  the 
title  of  king,  the  administration  should  be  entirely  in  the 
queen ;  that  no  foreigner  should  be  capable  of  enjoying 
any  office  in  the  kingdom ;  that  no  innovation  should  be 
made  in  the  English  laws,  customs,  and  privileges ;  that 
Philip  should  not  carry  the  queen  abroad  without  her  con- 
sent, nor  any  of  her  children  without  the  consent  of  the 
nobility ;  that  the  male  issue  of  this  marriage  should  in- 
herit, together  with  England,  both  Burgundy  and  the  Low 
Countries ;  and  that  if  Don  Carlos,  Philip's  son  by  his 
former  marriage,  should  die,  and  his  line  be  extinct,  the 
queen's  issue,  whether  male  or  female,  should  inherit 
Spain,  Sicily,  Milan,  and  all  the  other  dominions  of  Philip. 
These  articles,  however,  gave  no  satisfaction ;  and  com- 
plaints were  every  where  diffused  that  England  would  be- 
come a  province,  and  a  province  to  a  kingdom  which 
usually  exercised  the  most  violent  authority  over  all  her 
dependent  dominions.    Some  persons,  more  turbulent  than 
the  rest,  formed  a  conspiracy  to  lise  in  arms,  and  declare 
against  the  queen's  marriage  with  Philip.     Sir  Thomas 
Wyat  purposed  to  raise  Rent ;  sir  Peter  Carew,  Devon- 
shire ;  and  they  engaged  the  duke  of  Suffolk,  by  the  hopes 
of  recovering  the  crown  for  the  lady  Jane,  to  attempt  rais- 
ing the  midland  counties.     Carew's  rebellion  was  soon 
suppressed  ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  fly  into  France.     Suf- 
folk endeavoured  to  raise  the  people  in  the  counties  of 
Warwick  and  Leicester ;  bm  oemg  closely  pursued  by  thf 
earl  of  Huntingdon,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  horse, 
he  was  taken,  and  carried  prisoner  to  London.     Wyat 
was  at  first  more  successful  in  his  attempt ;  and  having 
published  a  declaration  at  Maidstone,  in  Kent,  against  the 


MARY.  219 

queen's  evil  counsellors,  and  against  the  Spanish  match, 
the  people  began  to  flock  to  his  standard.  The  duke  of 
Norfolk,  with  sir  Henry  Jernegan,  was  sent  against  him, 
at  the  head  of  the  guards  and  some  other  troops,  reinforced 
with  five  hundred  Londoners  commanded  by  Bret.  The 
Londoners,  however,  deserted  to  Wyat,  and  declared  that 
they  would  not  contribute  to  enslave  their  native  country ; 
and  Norfolk,  dreading  the  contagion  of  the  example,  im- 
mediately retreated  with  his  troops,  and  took  shelter  in 
the  city. 

After  this  proof  of  the  disposition  of  the  people,  espe- 
cially of  the  Londoners,  who  were  mostly  protestants,  Wyat 
was  encouraged  to  proceed :  he  led  his  forces  to  South- 
wark,  but  finding  that  the  bridge  was  secured  against  him, 
and  that  the  city  was  overawed,  he  marched  up  to  King- 
ston, where  he  passed  the  river  with  four  thousand  men ; 
and  returning  towards  London,  hoped  to  encourage  his 
partisans,  who  had  engaged  to  declare  for  him.  He  had, 
however,  imprudently  wasted  so  much  time,  that  the  cri- 
tical season,  on  which  all  popular  commotions  depend, 
was  entirely  lost,  and  his  followers  insensibly  falling  off ; 
he  was  taken  prisoner  near  Temple  bar,  and  soon  after 
executed,  with  about  four  hundred  of  his  adherents. 

The  lady  Elizabeth  had  been,  during  some  time,  treated 
with  great  harshness  by  her  sister.  Mary  seized  the  op- 
portunity of  this  rebellion :  and  hoping  to  involve  Eliza-1 
beth  in  some  appearance  of  guilt,  committed  her  to  the 
tower ;  but  the  princess  made  so  good  a  defence  before 
the  council,  who  examined  her,  that  the  queen  found  her- 
self under  the  necessity  of  releasing  her.  In  order,  how- 
ever, to  send  her  out  of  the  kingdom,  a  marriage  was 
offered  her  with  the  duke  of  Savoy ;  and  when  she  de- 
clined the  proposal,  she  was  committed  to  custody  under 
a  strong  guard  at  Woodstock. 

This  rebellion  proved  fatal  to  the  lady  Jane  Gray  and 
her  husband.  She  was  warned  to  prepare  for  death  ;  a 
doom  which  she  had  long  expected,  and  which  the  inno- 
cence of  her  life,  as  well  as  the  misfortunes  to  which  she 
had  been  exposed,  rendered  nowise  unwelcome  to  her. 
The  queen's  zeal,  under  colour  of  tender  mercy  to  the 
prisoner's  soul,  induced  her  to  send  divines  who  harassed 
her  with  perpetual  disputation.  The  lady  Jane,  however, 
had  presence  of  mind,  in  those  melancholy  circumstances, 


220  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

not  dily  to  defend  her  religion  by  all  the  topics  then  in 
use,  but  also  to  write  a  letter  to  her  sister  in  the  Greek 
language ;  in  which,  besides  sending  her  a  copy  of  the 
scriptures  in  that  tongue,  she  exhorted  her  to  maintain, 
in  every  fortune,  a  like  steady  perseverance.  On  the  day 
of  her  execution,  her  husband,  lord  Guilford,  desired 
permission  to  see  her ;  but  she  refused  her  consent,  and 
informed  him  by  a  message,  that  the  tenderness  of  their 
parting  would  overcome  the  fortitude  of  both,  and  would 
too  much  unbend  their  minds  from  that  constancy  which 
their  approaching  end  required :  their  separation,  she  said, 
would  be  only  for  a  moment ;  and  they  would  soon  rejoin 
each  other  in  a  scene  where  their  affections  would  be  for 
ever  united,  and  where  death,  disappointment,  and  mis- 
fortunes, could  no  longer  have  access  to  them,  or  disturb 
their  eternal  felicity.  She  saw  her  husband  led  to  execu- 
tion :  and  having  given  him  from  the  window  some  token 
of  nei  remembrance,  she  waited  with  tranquility  till  her 
own  appointed  hour  should  bring  her  to  a  like  fate.  She 
even  saw  his  headless  body  carried  back  in  a  cart,  and 
found  lierself  more  confirmed,  by  the  reports  which  she 
heard  of  the  constancy  of  his  end,  than  shaken  by  so  tender 
and  melancholy  a  spectacle.  Sir  John  Gage,  consta- 
ble of  the  tower,  when  he  led  her  to  execution,  desired 
her  to  bestow  on  him  some  small  present,  which  he  might 
keep  as  a  perpetual  memorial  of  her ;  she  gave  him  her 
table-book,  on  which  she  had  just  written  three  sentences 
on  seeing  her  husband's  dead  body ;  one  in  Greek,  another 
in  Latin,  a  thirtf  in  English.  The  purport  of  them  was, 
that  human  justice  was  against  his  body,  but  divine  mercy 
would  be  favourable  to  his  soul ;  that  if  her  fault  deserved 
punishment,  her  youth  at  least,  and  her  imprudence,  were 
worthy  of  excuse ;  and  that  God  and  posterity,  she  trusted, 
would  show  her  favour.  On  the  scaffold  she  made  a 
speech  to  the  spectators,  in  which  the  mildness  of  her  dis- 
position led  her  to  take  the  blame  wholly  on  herself,  with- 
out uttering  one  complaint  against  the  severity  with  which 
she  had  been  treated  ;  and  then,'  with  a  steady  and  serene 
countenance,  she  submitted  to  the  stroke  of  death. 

The  duke  of  Suffolk  was  tried  and  condemned,  and  soon 
after  executed  ;  and  the  tower  and  all  the  prisons  were 
filled  with  nobility  and  gentry,  whom  their  interest  with 
the  nation  rendered  objects  of  suspicion.     The  queen, 


MARY.  221 

finding  that  she  was  universally  hated,  determined  to  de- 
prive the  people  of  resistance,  by  ordering  general  mus- 
ters, and  directing  the  commissioners  to  seize  their  arms. 

The  ministry  hoped  to  find  a  compliant  disposition  in 
the  new  parliament,  which  was  summoned  to  assemble ; 
and  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  this  object,  the  emperor 
distributed  above  four  hundred  thousand  crowns  in  bribes 
and  pensions  among  the  members.  Gardiner,  the  chan- 
cellor, opened  the  session  by  a  speech,  in  which  he  ob- 
served, that  in  order  to  obviate  the  inconveniences  which 
might  arise  from  different  pretenders,  it  was  necessary  to 
invest  the  queen,  by  law,  with  a  power  of  disposing  of  the 
crown,  and  of  appointing  her  successor.  The  parliament, 
however,  who  knew  her  extreme  hatred  to  Elizabeth,  and 
the  probability  of  her  making  a  will  in  her  husband's  fa- 
vour, and  thereby  rendering  England  for  ever  a  province 
to  the  Spanish  monarchy,  refused  to  acquiesce  in  Gardi- 
ner's proposal ;  and,  the  more  effectually  to  cut  off  Philip's 
hopes,  they  passed  a  law,  "  that  her  majesty,  as  their  only 
queen,  should  solely,  and  as  a  sole  queen,  enjoy  the  crown 
and  sovereignty  of  her  realms,  with  all  the  pre-eminences, 
dignities,  and  rights  thereto  belonging,  in  as  large  and 
ample  manner  after  her  marriage,  without  any  title  or 
claim  accruing  to  the  prince  of  Spain,  either  as  tenant  by 
courtesy,  or  by  any  other  means." 

The  queen,  finding  the  parliament  less  subservient  than 
she  wished,  finished  the  session  by  dissolving  them  ;  and 
she  employed  all  her  thoughts  on  receiving  Don  Philip, 
whose  arrival  she  hourly  expected.  She  waited  with  the 
utmost  impatience  for  the  completion  of  the  marriage  ;  and 
every  obstacle  was  to  her  a  source  of  anxiety  and  discon- 
tent. She  complained  of  Philip's  delays  as  affected ;  and 
she  could  not  conceal  her  vexation,  that  though  she 
brought  him  a  kingdom  as  her  dowry,  he  treated  her  with 
such  neglect,  that  he  had  never  yet  favoured  her  with  a  sin- 
gle letter.  Her  health,  and  even  her  understanding,  were 
visibly  hurt  by  this  extreme  impatience ;  and  she  was 
struck  with  a  new  apprehension  lest  her  person,  impaired 
by  time  and  blasted  by  sickness,  should  prove  disagreea- 
ble to  her  future  consort.  Her  glass  discovered  to  her  how 
haggard  she  was  become ;  and  when  she  remarked  the 
decay  of  her  beauty,  she  knew  not  whether  she  ought  more 
to  desire  or  apprehend  the  arrival  of  Philip. 
19* 


222  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

At  last,  news  was  brought  the  queen  of  Philip's  arrival 
at  Southampton.  A  few  days  after  they  were  married  at 
Westminster,  and  having  made  a  pompous  entry  into  Lon- 
don, she  carried  him  to  Windsor,  the  place  in  which  they 
afterwards  resided.  The  prince's  behaviour  was  ill-cal- 
culated to  remove  the  prejudices  which  the  English  nation 
had  entertained  against  him.  He  was  distant  and  reserved 
in  his  address ;  and  so  entrenched  himself  in  form  and 
ceremony,  that  he  was  in  a  manner  inaccessible  ;  but  this 
circumstance  rendered  him  the  more  acceptable  to  the 
queen,  who  desired  to  have  no  company  but  her  husband's, 
and  who  was  impatient  when  she  met  with  any  interrup- 
tion to  her  fondness. 

Mary  soon  found  that  Philip's  ruling  passion  was  am- 
bition ;  and  that  the  only  method  of  gratifying  him,  and 
securing  his  affections,  was  to  render  him  master  of  Eng- 
land. For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  this  favourite  object, 
she  summoned  a  new  parliament,  in  hopes  of  finding  them 
entirely  compliant ;  but  the  hatred  to  the  Spaniards  still 
prevailed,  and  the  queen  failed  in  the  endeavour  to  get 
her  husband  declared  presumptive  heir  to  the  crown.  That 
assembly,  however,  was  more  obsequious  in  regard  to  reli- 
gion :  it  had  reversed  the  attainder  of  cardinal  Pole,  who 
had  come  over  invested  with  legatine  powers  from  the 
pope ;  and  who,  after  being  introduced  to  the  king  and 
queen,  invited  the  parliament  to  reconcile  themselves  and 
the  kingdom  to  the  apostolic  see,  from  which  they  had 
been  so  long  and  so  unhappily  divided.  This  message  was 
taken  in  good  part ;  and  both  houses  voted  an  address  to 
Philip  and  Mary,  acknowledging  that  they  had  been  guilty 
of  a  most  horrible  defection  from  the  true  church ;  and 
praying  their  majesties  to  intercede  with  the  holy  father 
for  the  absolution  and  forgiveness  of  their  penitent  sub- 
jects. The  request  was  easily  granted.  The  legate,  in 
tiie  name  of  his  holiness,  gave  the  parliament  and  kingdom 
absolution,  freed  them  from  all  censures,  and  received 
them  again  into  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

The  queen's  extreme  desire  of  having  issue  made  her 
fondly  give  credit  to  every  appearance  of  pregnancy ;  and 
when  the  legate  was  introduced  to  her,  she  fancied  that  she 
felt  the  embryo  stir  in  her  womb.  Great  rejoicings  were 
made  on  this  occasion  ;  but  the  nation  remained  somewhat 
incredulous.    The  belief,  however,  of  her  pregnancy  was 


MARV.  223 

upheld  with  all  possible  care ;  and  was  one  artifice  by 
which  Philip  endeavoured  to  support  his  authority  in  the 
kingdom.     The  parliament  passed  a  law,  which,  in  case  of 
the  queen's  demise,  appointed  him  protector  during 
the  minority ;  and  the  king  and  queen,  finding  that  ,  L-2 
they  could  obtain  no  farther  concessions,  came  un- 
expectedly to  Westminster  and  dissolved  them. 

The  success  of  Gardiner  in  governing  the  parliament, 
and  engaging  them  to  concur  i>oth  in  the  Spanish  match, 
and  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  ancient  religion,  had 
raised  his  character  above  that  of  Pole,  who  was  regarded 
rather  as  a  good  man  than  a  great  minister.  The  latter 
was  very  sincere  in  his  religious  principles,  and  thought 
that  no  consideration  of  human  policy  ought  ever, to  come 
in  competition  with  the  catholic  doctrines ;  whilst  Gardi- 
ner, on  the  contrary,  had  always  made  his  religion  sub- 
servient to  his  schemes  of  safety  or  advancement.  Yet 
the  benevolent  disposition  of  Pole  led  him  to  advise  a  tole- 
ration of  the  heretical  tenets,  which  he  highly  blamed  ; 
while  the  severe  manners  of  Gardiner  inclined  him  to  sup- 
port by  persecution  that  religion  which  in  reality  he  re- 
garded with  great  indifference. 

The  arguments  and  views  of  Gardiner  were  more  agree- 
able to  the  cruel  bigotry  of  Mary  and  Philip ;  and  the 
scheme  of  toleration  was  entirely  rejected.  It  was  deter- 
mined to  let  loose  the  laws  in  their  full  vigour  against  the 
reformed  religion ;  and  England  was  soon  filled  with  scenes 
of  horror,  which  have  ever  since  rendered  the  catholic  re- 
ligion the  object  of  deserved  detestation. 

Rogers,  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  a  man  eminent  in  his 
party  for  virtue  as  well  as  for  learning,  was  the  first  victim 
of  the  persecutors.  This  man,  besides  the  care  of  his  own 
preservation,  lay  under  other  powerful  temptations  to  re- 
cant :  he  had  a  wife  whom  he  tenderly  lovedi  and  ten  chil- 
dren ;  yet  such  was  his  serenity  after  his  condemnation, 
that  the  jailors,  it  is  said,  waked  him  from  a  sound  sleep, 
when  the  hour  of  his  execution  approached.  He  had  de- 
sired to  see  his  wife  before  he  died ;  but  Gardiner  told 
him,  that  he  was  a  priest,  and  could  not  possibly  have  a 
wife  ;  thus  adding  insult  to  cruelty. 

Hooper,  bishop  of  Gloucester,  had  been  tried  at  the  same 
time  with  Rogers ;  but  was  sent  to  his  own  diocess  to  be 
executed.    This  circumstance  was  contrived  to  strike  the 


224  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

greater  terror  into  his  flock ;  but  it  was  a  source  of  conso- 
lation to  Hooper,  who  rejoiced  in  giving  testimony  by  his 
death  to  that  doctrine  which  he  had  formerly  preached 
among  them.  When  he  was  tied  to  the  stake,  a  stool  was 
set  before  him,  and  the  queen's  pardon  laid  upon  it,  which 
it  was  still  in  his  power  to  merit  by  a  recantation ;  but  he 
ordered  it  to  be  removed ;  and  cheerfully  prepared  himself 
for  that  dreadful  punishment  to  which  he  was  sentenced. 
He  suffered  it  in  its  full  severity :  the  wind  which  was 
violent,  blew  the  flame  of  the  reeds  from  his  body ;  the 
faggots  were  green,  and  did  not  kindle  easily;  all  his  lower 
parts  were  consumed  Hefore  his  vitals  were  attacked ;  but 
he  was  heard  to  pray,  and  to  exhort  the  people,  till  his 
tongue,  swollen  with  the  violence  of  his  agony,  could  no 
longer  permit  him  utterance. 

Sanders  was  burnt  at  Coventry:  a  pardon  was  also 
offered  him ;  but  he  rejected  it,  and  embraced  the  stake, 
saying,  "  Welcome  the  cross  of  Christ !  welcome  everlast- 
ing life !"  Taylor,  parson  of  Hadley,  was  punished  by  fire 
in  that  place,  surrounded  by  his  former  friends  and  pa- 
rishioners. Philpot,  archdeacon  of  Winchester,  was  con- 
demned to  the  flames,  and  suffered  at  Smithfield.  The 
imputed  crime  for  which  almost  all  the  protestants  were 
condemned,  was  their  refusal  to  acknowledge  the  doctrine 
of  the  real  presence. 

Gardiner,  who  had  vainly  expected  that  a  few  examples 
would  strike  terror  into  the  reformers,  finding  the  work 
daily  multiply  upon  him,  devolved  the  invidious  office  on 
others,  chiefly  on  Bonner,  a  man  of  profligate  manners, 
and  of  a  brutal  character,  who  seemed  to  rejoice  in  the  tor- 
ments of  the  unhappy  sufferers.  He  sometimes  whipped 
the  prisoners  with  his  own  hands,  till  he  was  tired  with  the 
violence  of  the  exercise :  he  tore  out  the  beard  of  a  weaver 
who  refused  to  relinquish  his  religion ;  and  that  he  might 
give  hkn  a  specimen  of  burning,  he  held  his  hand  to  the 
candle  till  the  sinews  and  veins  shrunk  and  burst. 

It  is  impossible  to  enumerate  in  this  work  all  the  cruel- 
ties practised  in  England  during  the  three  years  that  these 
persecutions  lasted.  Ferrar,  bishop  of  St.  David's,  was 
burned  in  his  own  diocess.  Ridley,  bishop  of  London,  and 
Latimer,  formerly  bishop  of  Worcester,  two  prelates  cele- 
brated for  learning  and  virtue,  perished  together  in  the 
same  flames  at  Oxford,  and  supported  each  other's  con- 


MARY.  225 

stancy  by  their  mutual  exhortations.  Latimer,  when  tied 
to  the  stake,  called  to  his  companion,  "  Be  of  good  cheer, 
brother ;  we  shall  this  day  kindle  such  a  torch  in  England, 
as,  I  trust  in  God,  shall  never  be  extinguished." 

The  tender  sex  itself,  as  they  have  commonly  greater 
propensity  to  religion,  produced  many  examples  of  the 
most  inflexible  courage  in  supporting  the  profession  of  their 
faith  against  all  the  persecutors.  One  execution  in  par- 
ticular was  attended  with  circumstances  which,  even  at 
that  time,  excited  astonishment  by  reason  of  their  unusual 
barbarity.  A  woman  in  Guernsey,  being  near  the  time  of 
her  labour,  when  brought  to  the  stake  was  thrown  into  such 
agitation  by  the  torture  that  her  belly  burst,  and  she  was 
delivered  in  the  midst  of  the  flames.  One  of  the  guards 
immediately  snatched  the  infant  from  the  fire,  and  at- 
tempted to  save  it ;  but  a  magistrate,  who  stood  by,  order- 
ed it  to  be  thrown  back,  being  determined,  he  said,  that 
nothing  should  survive  which  sprang  from  so  obstinate  and 
heretical  a  parent. 

These  barbarities,  committed  in  the  name  of  a  religion 
which  abjures  them,  excited  horror  in  the  nation,  and  ren- 
dered the  Spanish  government  daily  more  odious.  Philip, 
sensible  of  the  hatred  which  he  incurred,  ordered  his  con- 
fessor to  deliver,  in  his  presence,  a  sermon  in  favour  of 
toleration ;  but  this  shallow  artifice  failed  of  the  desired 
effect,  and  the  court  threw  off  the  mask.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  introduce  the  inquisition  into  England;  and  a 
commission  was  appointed,  by  authority  of  the  queen's 
prerogative,  more  effectually  to  extirpate  heresy ;  but  the 
court  devised  a  more  expeditious  and  summary  method  of 
supporting  orthodoxy  than  even  the  inquisition  itself. 
They  issued  a  proclamation  against  books  of  heresy,  trea- 
son, and  sedition,  declaring,  "  that  whosoever  had  any  of 
these  books,  and  did  not  presently  burn  them,  without 
reading  them,  or  showing  them  to  any  other  person,  should 
be  esteemed  rebels ;  and  without  any  farther  delay  be 
executed  by  martial  law." 

In  the  space  of  three  years,  it  is  computed  that  two 
hundred  and  seventy- seven  persons  were  brought  to  the 
stake  ;  besides  those  who  were  punished  by  imprisonment, 
fines,  and  confiscations.  Among  those  who  suffered  by 
fire  were  five  bishops,  twenty-one  clergymen,  eight  lay 
gentlemen,  eighty-four  tradesmen,  one  hundred  husband- 


226  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

men,  servants,  and  labourers,  fifty-five  women,  and  four 
children. 

The  burning  of  heretics  was  a  very  natural  method  of 
reconciling  the  kingdom  to  the  Romish  communion  ;  and 
little  solicitation  was  requisite  to  engage  the  pope  to  receive 
the  strayed  flock.  However,  Paul  IV.,  who  now  filled  the 
papal  chair,  insisted  that  the  property  and  possessions  of  the 
church  should  be  restored  to  the  uttermost  farthing.  This 
demand  had  little  influence  on  the  nation,  but  operated 
powerfully  on  the  queen,  who  was  determined,  in  order  to 
ease  her  conscience,  to  restore  all  the  church-lands  which 
were  still  in  the  possession  of  the  crown  ;  and  the  more  to 
display  her  zeal,  she  erected  anew  some  convents  and 
monasteries,  notwithstanding  the  low  condition  of  the  ex- 
chequer. When  this  measure  was  debated  in  council, 
some  members  objected,  that  if  such  a  considerable  part 
of  the  revenue  were  dismembered,  the  dignity  of  the  crown 
would  fall  to  decay ;  but  the  queen  replied,  that  she  pre- 
ferred the  salvation  of  her  soul  to  ten  such  kingdoms  as 
England. 

Persecution  had  now  become  extremely  odious  to  the 
nation ;  and  the  effects  of  the  public  discontent  appeared 
in  the  new  parliament  summoned  to  meet  at  Westminster. 
A  bill  was  passed,  restoring  to  the  church  the  tenths  and 
first-fruits,  and  all  the  impropriations  which  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  crown ;  but  though  this  matter  directly 
concerned  none  but  the  queen  herself,  great  opposition  was 
made  to  the  bill  in  the  house  of  commons.  An  application 
being  made  for  a  subsidy  during  two  years,  and  for  two 
fifteenths,  the  latter  was  refused  by  the  commons ;  and 
many  members  said,  that  while  the  crown  was  thus  de- 
spoiling itself  of  its  revenue,  it  was  in  vain  to  bestow  riches 
upon  it.  The  queen,  finding  the  intractable  humour  of 
the  commons,  thought  proper  to  dissolve  the  parliament. 

The  spirit  of  opposition  which  prevailed  in  parliament, 
was  the  more  vexatious  to  Mary,  as  Philip,  tired  of  her 
importunate  love  and  jealousy,  and  finding  his  authority 
extremely  limited  in  England,  had  left  her,  and  gone  over 
to  Flanders.  The  indifference  and  neglect  of  her  husband, 
added  to  the  disappointment  in  her  imagined  pregnancy, 
threw  her  into  a  deep  melancholy ;  and  she  gave  vent  to 
her  spleen,  by  daily  enforcing  the  persecutions  against 
the  protestants,  and  even  by  expressions  of  rage  against  all 


MARY.  227 

her  subjects,  by  whom  she  knew  herself  to  be  hated,  and 
whose  opposition,  in  refusing  an  entire  compliance  with 
Philip,  was  the  cause,  she  believed,  why  he  had  alienated 
his  affections  from  her,  and  afforded  her  so  little  of  his 
company.  The  less  return  her  love  met  with,  the  more  it 
increased ;  and  she  passed  most  of  her  time  in  solitude, 
where  she  gave  vent  to  her  passion,  either  in  tears,  or  in 
writing  fond  epistles  to  Philip,  who  seldbm  returned  her 
any  answer,  and  scarcely  deigned  to  pretend  any  sentiment 
of  love,  or  even  of  gratitude,  towards  her.  The  chief  part 
of  government  to  which  she  attended,  was  the  extorting  of 
money  from  her  people,  in  order  to  satisfy  his  demands ; 
and  as  the  parliament  had  granted  her  but  a  scanty  sup- 
ply, she  had  recourse  to  expedients  very  violent  and  irre- 
gular. She  levied  loans  and  exacted  contributions  with 
the  greatest  rapacity ;  and  this  at  a  time  when  she  was  at 
peace  with  all  the  world,  and  had  no  other  occasion  for 
money  than  to  supply  the  demands  of  a  husband,  who  at- 
tended only  to  his  own  convenience,  and  showed  himself 
indifferent  to  her  interests. 

Philip  was  now  become  master  of  all  the  wealth  of  the 
new  world,  and  of  the  richest  and  most  extensive 
dominions  in  Europe,  by  the  voluntary  resignation  jV^g 
of  the  emperor  Charles  V.,  who,  though  still  in  the 
vigour  of  his  age,  had  taken  a  disgust  to  the  world,  and 
was  determined  to  seek,  in  the  tranquility  of  retreat,  for 
that  happiness  which  he  had  in  vain  pursued  amidst  the 
tumults  of  war,  and  the  restless  projects  of  ambition. 
Philip,  finding  himself  threatened  with  a  war  with  France, 
was  desirous  of  embarking  England  in  the  quarrel ;  and 
though  the  queen  was  extremely  averse  to  the  measure, 
yet  she  was  incapable  of  resisting  her  husband's  importu- 
nity. But  she  had  little  weight  with  her  council,  and  still 
less  with  her  people  ;  and  a  new  act  of  barbarity,  of  which 
she  was  guilty,  rendered  her  government  extremely  un- 
popular. 

Cranmer  had  long  been  detained  prisoner;  but  the 
queen  now  determined  to  bring  him  to  punishment ;  and 
in  order  fne  more  fully  to  satiate  her  vengeance,  she  re- 
solved to  punish  him  for  heresy,  rather  than  for  treason. 
He  was  cited  by  the  pope  to  stand  his  trial  at  Rome  ;  and 
though  he  was  known  to  be  kept  in  close  custody  at  Ox- 
ford, he  was,  upon  his  not  appearing,  condemned  as  con- 


228  HISTORY   OP  ENGLAND. 

tumacious.  Bonner,  bishop  of  London,  and  Thirleby,  of 
Ely,  were  sent  to  degrade  him  ;  and  the  former  executed 
the  melancholy  ceremony  with  all  the  joy  and  exultation 
which  suited  his  savage  nature.  The  implacable  spirit  of 
the  queen,  not  satisfied  with  the  execution  of  that  dreadful 
sentence  to  which  he  was  condemned,  prompted  her  to 
seek  the  ruin  of  his  honour,  and  the  infamy  of  his  name. 
Persons  were  employed  to  attack  him  by  flattery,  insinua- 
tion, and  address ;  by  representing  the  dignities  to  which 
his  character  still  entitled  him,  if  he  would  merit  them  by  a 
recantation  ;  and  by  giving  hopes  of  long  enjoying  those 
powerful  friends  whom  his  beneficent  disposition  had  at- 
tached to  him  during  the  course^  of  his  prosperity.  Over- 
come by  the  fond  love  of  life,  and  terrified  by  the  prospect 
of  those  tortures  which  awaited  him,  he  allowed,  in  an  un- 
guarded hour,  the  sentiments  of  nature  to  prevail  over  his 
resolution,  and  agreed  to  subscribe  the  doctrines  of  the 
papal  supremacy,  and  of  the  real  presence.  The  court, 
equally  perfidious  and  cruel,  were  determined  that  his 
recantation  should  avail  him  nothing ;  and  they  sent  him 
orders  that  he  should  be  required  to  acknowledge  his 
errors  in  church  before  the  whole  people,  and  that  he 
should  thence  be  immediately  carried  to  execution.  Whe- 
ther Cranmer  had  received  a  secret  intimation  of  their 
design,  or  had  repented  of  his  weakness,  he  surprised  the 
audience  by  a  contrary  declaration.  He  said,  that  he  was 
well  apprized  of  the  obedience  which  he  owed  to  his  sove- 
reign and  the  laws ;  but  this  duty  extended  no  farther  than 
to  submit  patiently  to  their  commands,  and  to  bear,  with- 
out resistance,  whatever  hardships  they  should  impose 
upon  him  ;  that  a  superior  duty,  the  duty  which  he  owed 
to  his  Maker,  obliged  him  to  speak  truth  on  all  occasions, 
and  not  relinquish,  by  a  base  denial,  the  holy  doctrine 
which  the  Supreme  Being  had  revealed  to  mankind ;  that 
there  was  one  miscarriage  in  his  life,  of  which,  above  all 
others,  he  severely  repented — the  insincere  declaration  of 
faith  to  which  he  had  the  weakness  to  consent,  and  which 
the  fear  of  death  alone  had  extorted  from  him ;  that  he 
took  this  opportunity  of  atoning  for  his  error,  by  a  sincere 
and  open  recantation ;  and  was  willing  to  seal  with  his 
blood,  that  doctrine  which  he  firmly  believed  to  be  com- 
municated from  heaven  ;  and  that,  as  his  hand  had  erred, 
by  betraying  his  heart,  it  should  first  be  punished,  by  a  se- 


MARY.  229 

vere  but  just  doom,  and  should  first  pay  the  forfeit  of  its 
offences.  He  was  thence  led  to  the  stake,  amidst  the  in- 
sults of  the  catholics  ;  and  having  now  summoned  up  all 
the  force  of  his  mind,  he  bore  their  scorn,  as  well  as  the 
torture  of  his  punishment,  with  singular  fortitude.  He 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and,  without  betraying,  either  by 
his  countenance  or  motions,  the  least  sign  of  weakness,  or 
even  of  feeling,  he  held  it  in  the  flames  till  it  was  entirely 
consumed.  His  thoughts  seemed  wholly  occupied  with 
reflections  on  his  former  fault,  and  he  called  aloud  several 
times,  "this  hand  has  offended."  Satisfied  with  that 
atonement,  he  then  discovered  a  serenity  in  his  counte- 
nance ;  and  when  the  fire  attacked  his  body,  he  seemed 
to  be  quite  insensible  of  his  outward  sufferings,  and  by  the 
force  of  hope  and  resolution,  to  have  collected  his  mind 
altogether  within  itself,  and  to  repel  the  fury  of  the  flames. 
It  is  pretended,  that  after  his  body  was  consumed,  his 
heart  was  found  entire  and  untouched  amidst  the  ashes  ; 
an  event  which,  as  it  was  the  emblem  of  his  constancy, 
was  fondly  believed  by  the  zealous  protestants.  Cranmer 
was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  great  merit.  He  was  adorned 
with  candour,  sincerity,  and  beneficence,  and  all  those 
virtues  which  were  fitted  to  render  him  useful  and  amiable 
in  society.  His  moral  qualities  procured  him  universal 
respect ;  and  his  learning  and  capacity  entitled  him  to  the 
esteem  of  mankind. 

After  Cranmer's  death,  cardinal  Pole  was  installed  in 
the   see  of  Canterbury,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
church  of  England ;  but,  though  he  was  averse  to  all  san- 
guinary methods  of  converting  heretics,  his  authority  was 
too  weak  to  oppose  the  barbarous  and  bigotted  disposition 
of  the  queen  and  her  counsellors.     In  order  to  engage  the 
nation  in  the  war  between  France  and  Spain,  Philip  had 
come  to  London ;  and  he  told  the  queen,  that  if  he  were 
not  gratified  in  this  request,  he  would  never  more 
set  foot  in  England.     After  employing  menaces  tWy 
and  artifices,  Mary's  importunity  prevailed ;  war 
was  declared   against   France;    and   preparations   were 
made  for  invading  that  kingdom. 

The  revenue  of  England  at  that  time  little  exceeded 

three  hundred  thousand  pounds  ;  and  in  order  to  support 

the  war,  the  queen  levied  money  by  the  most  arbitrary  and 

violent  methods.     She  obliged  the  city  of  London  to  sup- 

20 


230  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

ply  her  with  sixty  thousand  pounds  on  her  husband's  en- 
try ;  she  levied,  before  the  legal  time,  the  second  year's 
subsidy  voted  by  parliament ;  she  issued  anew  many  privy- 
seals,  by  which  she  procured  loans  from  the  people  ;  and 
having  equipped  a  fleet,  which  she  could  not  victual,  by 
reason  of  the  dearness  of  provisions,  she  seized  all  the 
corn  she  could  find  in  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  without  paying 
any  price  to  the  owners.  By  all  these  expedients,  assisted 
by  the  power  of  pressing,  she  levied  an  army  of  ten  thou- 
sand men,  which  she  sent  over  to  the  Low  Countries,  un 
der  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Pembroke.  Meanwhile, 
in  order  to  prevent  any  disturbance  at  home,  many  of  the 
most  considerable  gentry  were  thrown  into  the  tower; 
and,  lest  they  should  be  known,  they  either  were  carried 
thither  in  the  night  time,  or  were  hood-winked  and  muffled 
by  the  guards  who  conducted  them. 

The  king  of  Spain's  army,  after  the  junction  of  the 
English,  amounted  to  sixty  thousand  men ;  and  the  duke 
of  Savoy,  who  commanded  it,  suddenly  invested  St.  Quen- 
tin.  The  constable,  Montmorency,  approached  the  place 
with  his  whole  army ;  but  being  attacked  by  the  besiegers, 
he  was  totally  defeated  and  made  prisoner.  By  this  event, 
the  whole  kingdom  of  France  was  thrown  into  consterna- 
tion ;  but  the  cautious  temper  of  Philip  allowed  the  French 
time  to  recover  their  spirits,  and  no  other  enterprise  of 
moment  followed  this  decisive  victory. 

Calais,  which  the  English  had  held  above  two  hundred 

years,  was  unexpectedly  invested,  and  attacked  by 

I V  ~A  the  duke  of  Guise,  who  in  eight  days,  during  the 

depth  of  winter,  made  himself  master  of  this  strong 

fortress,  though  it  had  cost  Edward  III.  a  siege  of  eleven 

months,  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  which  had  that 

very  year  been  victorious  in  the  battle  of  Cressy.     The 

loss  of  this  valuable  fortress  occasioned  loud   murmurs 

among  the  English,  who  complained  of  the  improvidence 

of  the  queen  and  her  council. 

The  Scots,  excited  by  the  French,  began  to  infest  the 
borders ;  and  the  English  were  obliged  to  look  to  their 
defence  at  home,  rather  than  think  of  foreign  conquests. 
In  order  to  connect  Scotland  more  closely  with  France, 
and  to  increase  the  influence  of  the  latter  kingdom,  it  was 
thought  proper  by  Henry  to  celebrate  the  marriage  be- 
tween the  young  queen  and  the  dauphin ;  and  a  deputa* 


MARY.  231 

tion  was  sent  by  the  Scottish  parliament  to  assist  at  the 
ceremony,  and  to  settle  the  terms  of  the  contract. 

This  close  alliance  between  France  and  Scotland  threat- 
ened very  nearly  the  repose  and  security  of  Mary ;  and  it 
was  foreseen,  that  though  the  factions  and  disorders  which 
might  naturally  be  expected  in  the  Scottish  government, 
during  the  absence  of  the  sovereign,  would  make  its  power 
less  formidable,  that  kingdom  would  at  least  afford  to  the 
French  a  means  of  invading  England.  The  queen,  there- 
fore, found  it  necessary  to  summon  a  parliament,  and  to 
demand  of  them  some  supplies  to  her  exhausted  exche- 
quer. The  commons,  without  making  any  reflections  on 
the  past  exactions  and  extortions,  voted,  besides  a  fifteenth, 
a  subsidy  of  four  shillings  in  the  pound  on  land,  and  two 
shillings  and  eight  pence  on  goods.  The  parliament  also 
passed  an  act,  confirming  all  the  sales  and  grants  of  crown- 
lands,  which  either  were  already  made  by  the  queen,  or 
shquld  be  made  during  the  seven  ensuing  years. 

During  this  whole  reign,  the  nation  were  under  great 
apprehensions  with  regard  not  only  to  the  succession,  but 
the  life  of  the  lady  Elizabeth.  The  violent  hatred  which 
the  queen  bore  to  her  appeared  on  every  occasion  ;  and  it 
required  all  the  prudence  of  that  princess  to  prevent  the 
effects  of  Mary's  jealous  disposition.  Being  asked  her 
opinion  of  the  real  presence,  the  net  for  catching  the  pro- 
testants,  she  is  said  to  have  replied  as  follows : 

"  Christ  was  the  word  that  spake  it, 
He  took  the  bread  and  brake  it; 
And  what  the  word  did  make  it, 
That  I  believe  and  take  it." 

The  money  granted  by  parliament  enabled  the  queen  to 
fit  out  a  fleet  of  a  hundred  and  forty  sail,  which  being 
joined  by  thirty  Flemish  ships,  and  carrying  six  thousand 
land  forces  on  board,  was  sent  to  make  an  attempt  on  the 
coast  of  Brittany.  Negotiations  for  peace  were  entered 
into  between  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain  ;  and  the  ar- 
mies in  Picardy  were  put  into  winter  quarters  till  the 
princes  should  come  to  some  agreement.  Among  other 
conditions,  Henry  demanded  the  restitution  of  Navarre  to 
its  lawful  owner ;  Philip,  that  of  Calais  and  its  territory 
to  England ;  but  in  the  midst  of  these  negotiations,  news 
arrived  of  Mary's  death.     She  had  long  been  in  a  decli" 


232  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ning  state  of  health ;  and  the  loss  of  Calais,  and  th$  ^ 
*' ^  absence  of  her  husband,  brought  on  a  lingering  ■ 

fever,  of  which  she  died,  after  a  short  arfd  inglo- 
rious reign  of  five  years,  four  months,  and  eleven  days. 

Mary  possessed  few  qualities  either  estimable  or  amiaT 
ble;  and  her  person  was  as  little  engaging  as  her  beha- 
viour and  address.  Obstinacy,  bigotry,  violence,  cruelty, 
malignity,  revenge,  and  tyranny,  the  fruits  of  bad  temper, 
and  a  narrow  understanding,  attach  to  her  character ;  and 
amidst  this  complication  of  vices,  we  can  find  no  other 
virtue  than  that  of  sincerity. 

Under  her  reign,  the  naval  power  of  England  was  so 
inconsiderable,  that  fourteen  thousand  pounds  being  or- 
dered to  the  repairing  and  victualling  of  the  fleet,  it  was 
computed  that  ten  thousand  pounds  a  year  would  after- 
wards answer  all  necessary  charges. 


CHAP.  XII. 

The  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
Elizabeth  had  displayed  great  prudence  during  the 
reign  of  her  sister ;  and  as  men  were  sensible  of  the  im- 
minent danger  to  which  she  was  exposed,  compassion  to- 
wards her  situation,  and  concern  for  her  safety,  had  ren- 
dered her  the  favourite  of  the  nation.     A  parliament  had 
been  assembled  a  few  days  before  Mary's  death ; 
**  ^A  and  when  that  event  was  notified  to  them,  scarcely 
an  interval  of  regret  appeared ;    the  two  houses 
immediately  resounded  with  the  joyful  acclamations  of 
"God  save  queen  Elizabeth;  long  and Jhappily jnay  she 
reign !"  The  people,  less  actuated  by  faction,  expressed  a 
joy  still  more  general  and  sincere.     With  a  prudence  and 
magnanimity  truly  laudable,  Elizabeth  buried  all  offences 
in  oblivion ;  but  when  the  bishops  came  to  make  obei- 
sance to  her,  she  turned  away  from  Bonner,  as  from  a 
man  polluted  with  blood. 

In  notifying  her  accession  to  Philip,  she  expressed  to 
him  her  gratitude  for  the  protection  which  he  had  afforded 
her ;  and  that  monarch,  hoping  by  the  means  of  Elizabeth 
to  obtain  that  dominion  over  England  of  which  he  had 
failed  in  espousing  Mary,  made  her  proposals  of  marriage. 
To  these,  however,  she  returned  an  obliging,  but  evasive 
answer. 


ELIZABETH.  233 

The  education  and  conviction  of  Elizabeth  determined 
her  to  pursue  the  measures  of  the  reformation ;  and  she 
frequently  deliberated  with  sir  William  Cecil  on  the  means 
of  restoring  the  protestant  religion ;  but  she  resolved  to 
proceed  with  cautious  steps,  and  not  to  imitate  the  exam- 
ple of  Mary,  in  encouraging  a  violent  invasion  on  the  es- 
tablished religion.  She  recalled  those  who  had  fled  ;  she 
set  at  liberty  those  who  had  been  confined  on  account  of 
religion ;  she  ordered  a  great  part  of  the  service  to  be 
read  in  English ;  and  after  enjoining  all  the  churches  to 
conform  to  the  practice  of  her  own  chapel,  she  forbade  the 
host  to  be  any  more  elevated  in  her  presence.  By  her 
affability  and  address  she  gained  the  affections  of  her  sub- 
jects ;  and  she  delayed  the  entire  change  of  religion  till 
the  meeting  of  the  parliament,  which  was  summoned  to 
assemble. 

The  elections  had  gone  entirely  against  the  catholics ; 
and  the  houses  met  in  a  disposition  to  gratify  the  queen. 
They  began  the  session  with  an  unanimous  declaration, 
that  "  queen  Elizabeth  was,  and  ought  to  be,  as  well  by 
the  word  of  God,  as  the  common  and  statute  laws  of  the 
realm,  the  lawful,  undoubted,  and  .true  heir  to  the  crown, 
lawfully  descended  from  the  blood-royal,  according  to  the 
order  of  succession  settled  in  the  thirty-fifth  of  Henry 
VIII."  This  act  of  recognition  was  probably  dictated  by 
the  queen  herself  and  her  minister ;  and  she  did  not  follow 
the  example  of  Mary,  in  declaring  the  validity  of  her 
mother's  marriage,  or  in  expressly  repealing  the  act  for- 
merly passed  against  her  own  legitimacy. 

The  first  bill  brought  into  parliament  was  for  suppress- 
ing the  monasteries  lately  erected,  and  for  restoring  the 
tenths  and  first-fruits  to  the  queen.  This  point  being 
gained,  a  bill  was  next  passed,  annexing  the  supremacy 
to  the  crown,  which  was  vested  with  the  whole  spiritual 
power ;  and  whoever  denied,  or  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
queen's  supremacy,  was  subjected  to  certain  pains  and 
penalties.  A  law  was  passed  confirming  all  the  statutes 
enacted  in  king  Edward's  time  with  regard  to  religion. 

A  solemn  and  public  disputation  was  held  during  this 
session,  between  the  divines  of  the  protestant  and  those 
of  the  catholic  communion,  in  which,  it  may  be  easily 
imagined,  the  champions  of  the  former  were  entirely  trium- 
phant. Emboldened  by  this  victory,  the  protestants  ven- 
20* 


234  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

tured  on  bringing  a  bill  into  parliament  for  abolishing  the 
mass,  and  re-establishing  the  liturgy  of  king  Edward. 
Thus,  in  one  session,  without  any  violence  or  tumult,  the 
whole  system  of  religion  was  changed,  and  placed  on 
another  foundation. 

The  commons  also  voted  the  queen  a  liberal  subsidy  ; 
but  when,  in  an  importunate  address,  they  besought  her  to 
fix  her  choice  of  a  husband,  she  rejected  the  proposal,  and 
observed,  that  England  was  her  husband,  and  the  people 
her  children.  She  added,  that  she  desired  no  higher  cha- 
racter than  to  have  it  inscribed  on  her  tombstone,  "  Here 
lies  Elizabeth,  who  lived  and  died  a  maiden  queen." 

While  the  queen  and  parliament  were  employed  in  set- 
tling the  national  religion,  negotiations  for  peace  were 
carried  on  between  the  ministers  of  France,  Spain,  and 
England.  Philip  employed  his  utmost  efforts  to  procure 
a  restitution  of  Calais  to  England.  So  long  as  he  enter- 
tained hopes  of  espousing  the  queen,  he  delayed  to  con- 
clude a  peace  with  Henry ;  and  he  seemed  willing  to  con- 
tinue the  war  till  she  should  obtain  satisfaction.  But  Eli- 
zabeth, sensible  of  the  low  state  of  her  finances,  ordered 
her  ambassadors  to  conclude  a  peace  with  Henry  on  any 
reasonable  terms.  It  was  agreed,  that  Henry  should  re- 
store Calais  at  the  expiration  of  eight  years ;  but  it  was 
evident,  that  this  was  only  a  colourable  pretence  for  aban- 
doning that  fortress.  A  peace  with  Scotland  was  a  ne- 
cessary consequence  of  that  with  France. 

But  though  peace  was  concluded  between  France  and 
England,  there  soon  appeared  serious  grounds  for  mis- 
understanding. The  king  of  France  ordered  his  son  and 
daughter-in-law  to  quarter  the  arms  of  England  on  all 
their  equipages  and  liveries ;  and  as  the  queen  of  Scots 
was  next  heir  to  that  throne,  Elizabeth  plainly  saw,  that 
the  king  of  France  intended,  on  the  first  opportunity,  to 
dispute  her  legitimacy,  and  her  title  to  the  crown.  Soon 
after,  Francis  II.  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  France,  and 
still  continuing  to  assume  without  reserve  the  title  of  king 
of  England,  she  began  to  consider  him  and  his  queen  as 
her  mortal  enemies  ;  and  the  jealousy  thus  excited  against 
the  queen  of  Scots  terminated  only  with  the  life  of  the  un- 
fortunate Mary. 

The  present  situation  of  affairs  in  Scotland  afforded 
Elizabeth  a  favourable  opportunity  both  of  revenging  the 


ELIZABETH.  235 

injury,  and  providing  for  her  own  safety.  Popery  was 
still  the  religion  of  the  state  in  that  country ;  but  the 
English  preachers,  who  took  shelter  in  Scotland,  on  the 
accession  of  Mary  to  the  throne  of  England,  had  filled  the 
whole  kingdom  with  horror  at  the  cruelties  of  the  catho- 
lics ;  and  by  their  means,  the  reformation  in  that  country 
had  acquired  additional  strength,  and  even  threatened  the 
established  religion. 

About  this  critical  time,  when  the  queen-regent,  agree- 
able to  the  orders  received  from  France,  had  been  pro- 
ceeding with  rigour  against  the  protestants,  John  Knox 
arrived  from  Geneva,  where  he  had  imbibed,  from  his 
commerce  with  Calvin,  the  highest  fanaticism  of  his  sect, 
augmented  by  the  natural  ferocity  of  his  own  character. 
He  had  been  invited  back  to  Scotland  by  the  leaders  of 
the  reformation  ;  and  mounting  the  pulpit  at  Perth,  during 
the  present  ferment  of  men's  minds,  he  declaimed  against 
the  idolatry  and  other  abominations  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
and  incited  his  audience  to  exert  themselves  for  its  sub- 
version. A  tumult  immediately  succeeded  ;  and,  in  a  short 
time,  a  civil  war  raged  through  the  whole  kingdom. 

The  leaders  of  the  reformers,  who  had  assumed  the 
title  of  the  congregation,  solicited  succours  from  Eliza- 
beth ;  and  the  wise  council  of  the  queen  did  not  long 
deliberate  in  agreeing  to  this  request.  She  equipped  a 
fleet,  which  consisted  of  thirteen  ships  of  war ;  and  she 
assembled  at  Berwick  an  army  of  eight,  thousand  men, 
under  the  command  of  lord  Gray,  warden  of  the  east  and 
middle  marches.  The  court  of  France,  sensible  of  the 
danger,  offered  the  immediate  restitution  of  Calais,  pro- 
vided she  would  not  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Scotland ; 
but  she  resolutely  replied,  that  she  would  never  put  an  in- 
considerable fishing-town  in  competition  with  the  safety 
of  her  dominions.  Accordingly,  she  concluded  a  treaty  of 
mutual  defence  with  the  congregation,  and  receiving  from 
the  Scots  six  hostages  for  the  performance  of  articles,  she 
ordered  her  fleet  and  army  to  begin  their  operations. 

The  appearance  of  the  English  soon  decided  the  fate  of 
the   contest:    and   a  treaty  was  speedily  concluded,  in 
which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  French  should  im- 
mediately evacuate  Scotland,  and  that  an  amnesty  |*  5j 
should  be  granted  for  all    past  offences.      Soon 
after,  the  parliament  abolished  the  papal  jurisdiction  in 


alter,  tl 


1236  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Scotland,  and  established  the  presbyterian  form  of  disci* 
pline,  though  Mary  refused  to  sanction  their  statutes. 

■  Francis  IV.  died  soon  after,  and  Mary,  finding  her  abode 
in  France  disagreeable,  began  to  think  of  returning  to  her 
native  country ;  and  she  applied  to  Elizabeth  for  a  safe 
conduct,  in  case  she  should  be  obliged  to  pass  through 
England ;  but  she  received  for  answer,  that  till  she  had 
ratified  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh,  she  could  expect  no  favour 
from  a  person  whom  she  had  so  much  injured.  To  this 
Mary  replied  with  indignation,  "  With  God's  permission, 
I  can  return  to  Scotland  without  her  leave  ;"  and  embark- 
ing at  Calais,  she  passed  the  English  fleet  in  a  fog,  and 
arrived  safe  at  Leith.  Though  a  widow,  yet  she  was  only 
in  her  nineteenth  year ;  and  by  her  beauty,  and  the  polite- 
ness of  her  manners,  she  was  well  qualified  to  gain  the 
affections  of  her  subjects,  who  rejoiced  at  her  arrival  among 
them.  Her  first  measures  were  calculated  to  establish 
order  in  a  country  divided  by  public  factions  and  private 
feuds ;  but  there  was  one  circumstance  which  bereaved 
Mary  of  the  general  favour  that  her  agreeable  manners 
and  judicious  deportment  entitled  her  to  expect.  She  was 
still  a  papist ;  and  this  exposed  the  helpless  queen  to  un- 
merited contumely,  which  she  bore  with  benignity  and  pa- 
tience. In  particular,  John  Knox,  who  possessed  an  un- 
controlled authority  in  the  church,  and  even  in  the  civil 
affairs  of  the  nation,  triumphed  in  the  contumelious  abuse 
of  his  sovereign,  whom  he  usually  denominated  Jezebel. 

The  queen  of  Scots,  destitute  of  the  means  of  resistance, 
and  pressed  by  a  turbulent  nobility  and  a  bigoted  people, 
found  that  her  only  expedient  for  maintaining  tranquility 
was  the  preservation  of  a  friendly  connection  with  Eliza- 
beth. Secretary  Lidington  was,  therefore,  sent  to  Lon- 
don, to  pay  her  compliments  to  the  queen,  and  express  her 
desire  of  friendship  and  a  good  correspondence  ;  and  both 
sovereigns  assumed  the  appearance  of  a  cordial  recon- 
ciliation and  friendship  with  each  other. 

Elizabeth,  finding  that  Mary  was  sufficiently  depressed 
by  the  mutinous  spirit  of  her  subjects,  employed  herself 
in  regulating  the  affairs  of  her  own  kingdom.  She  fur- 
nished the  arsenals  with  arms,  fortified  the  frontiers,  pro- 
moted trade  and  navigation,  and  by  building  vessels  of 
force  herself,  and  suggesting  the  same  to  the  merchants, 


ELIZABETH.  237 

she  acquired  to  herself  the  titles  of  the  restorer  of  naval 
glory,  and  the  queen  of  the  northern  seas. 

Though  Elizabeth  kept  aloof  from  marriage,  yet  she 
was  not  only  very  averse  to  appoint  any  successor  to  the 
crown,  but  was  resolved,  as  much  as  was  in  her  power, 
that  no  one,  who  could  pretend  to  the  succession,  should 
have  any  heirs  or  successors.  The  lady  Catherine  Gray, 
younger  sister  to  lady  Jane,  having  privately  married  the 
earl  of  Hertford,  and  proving  pregnant,  they  were  both 
committed  to  the  tower.  '  As  Hertford  could  not  prove- 
their  nuptials  within  the  time  limited,  the  issue  was  d«- 
clared  illegitimate ;  and  the  earl  was  confined  for  nine 
years,  till  the  death  of  his  wife,  by  freeing  the  queen  from 
all  apprehension  of  heirs  and  claimants  from  that  quarter, 
procured  him  his  liberty. 

At  this  time,  the  two  great  rival  powers  of  Europe  were 
Spain  and  England.  The  bigotry  and  intolerant  spirit  of 
Philip  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  catholic  party ; 
while  Elizabeth,  from  her  religious  opinions,  and  ,  Vg<i 
the  conduct  which  she  pursued,  was  considered  as 
the  bulwark  and  support  of  the  protestants.  The  civil  and 
religious  contests  by  which  France  was  divided,  rendered 
that  country  an  object  of  vigilance  both  to  Philip  and  Eli- 
zabeth :  the  former  supported  the  established  government 
and  religion  ;  while  the  latter  lent  her  aid  in  protecting 
the  Hugonots,  or  protestant  party,  which  had  taken  arms 
under  the  prince  of  Conde.  Three  thousand  English  took 
possession  of  Havre  and  Dieppe  ;  but  the  latter  place  was 
so  little  capable  of  defence,  that  it  was  immediately  aban- 
doned. The  siege  of  Rouen  was  already  formed  by  the 
catholics;  and  though  the  English  troops  in  it  behaved 
with  great  gallantry,  the  place  was  taken  by  assault,  and 
the  whole  garrison  put  to  the  sword. 

It  was  expected  that  the  French  catholics  would  imme- 
diately have  formed  the  siege  of  Havre  ;  but  the  intestine 
divisions  of  the  kingdom  diverted  their  attention  to  another 
object.  By  the  influence  of  Elizabeth,  a  considerable 
body  of  protestants  had  been  levied  in  Germany  ;  and  the 
Hugonots  were  enabled  to  take  field  against  their  enemies. 
A  famous  battle  was  fought  at  Dreux ;  and  in  this  action, 
Conde  and  Montmorency,  the  commanders  of  the  opposite 
armies,  by  a  singular  fatality,  fell  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemies.  The  appearances  of  victory  remained  with  Guise ; 
but  the  admiral  Coligni,  collecting  the  remains  of  the  army, 


238  HISTORY   OP  ENGLAND. 

and  inspiring  every  breast  with  his  own  invincible  courage, 
subdued  some  considerable  places  in  Normandy. 

The  expenses  incurred  by  assisting  the  Hugonots  had 
emptied  the  queen's  exchequer,  and  obliged  her  to  call  a 
parliament.  As  the  life  of  Elizabeth  had  been  en- 
1  kfi^i  ^angered  by  tne  small-pox,  a  little  before  the  meet- 
ing of  that  assembly,  the  commons,  on  the  opening 
of  the  session,  again  entreated  the  queen  to  choose  a  hus- 
band, whom  they  promised  faithfully  to  serve  ;  or,  if  she 
entertained  any  reluctance  to  the  married  state,  they  de- 
sired that  the  lawful  successor  might  be  appointed  by  an 
act  of  parliament. 

This  subject  was  very  little  agreeable  to  the  queen,  who, 
considering  the  inconveniences  likely  to  arise  from  de- 
claring in  favour  either  of  the  queen  of  Scots  or  the  house 
of  Suffolk,  determined  to  keep  both  parties  in  awe  by 
maintaining  an  ambiguous  conduct.  She  gave,  therefore, 
an  evasive  answer  to  the  commons,  whom  she  told,  that 
she  had  fixed  no  absolute  resolution  against  marriage ;  that 
the  difficulties  attending  the  question  of  the  succession 
were  so  great,  that,  for  the  sake  of  her  people,  she  would 
be  contented  to  remain  some  time  longer  in  this  vale  of 
misery ;  and  that  she  could  not  die  with  satisfaction,  till 
she  had  laid  some  solid  foundation  for  their  future  security.' 

In  the  mean  time,  the  duke  of  Guise  had  been  assassi- 
nated before  Orleans,  and  Conde  and  Montmorency  had 
come  to  an  agreement,  that  a  toleration  should  be  granted 
anew  to  the  protestants.  The  interests  of  England  were 
disregarded  in  the  treaty ;  and  Havre,  which  had  been 
some  time  in  possession  of  the  English,  was  obliged  to  ca- 
pitulate to  the  arms  of  France.  Elizabeth,  whose  usual 
vigour  and  foresight  do  not  appear  in  this  transaction,  was 
now  glad  to  compound  matters,  by  agreeing  that  the  hos- 
tages which  the  French  had  previously  given  for  the  resti- 
tution of  Calais,  should  be  restored  on  the  payment  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  crowns,  and  that  both  sides 
should  retain  all  their  claims  and  pretensions. 

The  peace  with  Scotland  still  continued  ;  and  even  a 
cordial  friendship  seemed  to  have  been  cemented  between 
Elizabeth  and  Mary.  She  always  told  the  queen  of  Scots, 
that  nothing  would  satisfy  her  but  her  espousing  some  Eng- 
lish nobleman,  which  would  remove  all  grounds  of  jealousy 
and  misunderstanding  between  them.    At  last,  she  named 


ELIZABETH.  239 

lord  Robert  Dudley,  now  created  earl  of  Leicester,  as  the 
person  on  whom  she  desired  that  Mary's  choice  should  fall. 

Leicester,  the  great  and  powerful  favourite  of  Elizabeth, 
possessed  all  those  exterior  qualities  which  are  naturally 
alluring  to  the  fair  sex ;  and,  by  means  of  these  accom- 
plishments, he  was  able  to  blind  the  sagacious  Elizabeth, 
and  to  conceal  from  her  the  great  defects  which  marked 
his  character.  He  was  proud,  insolent,  and  ambitious, 
without  honour  or  principle.  The  constant  and  declared 
attachment  of  Elizabeth  to  him,  had  emboldened  him  to 
aspire  to  her  bed ;  and  the  proposal  of  espousing  Mary 
was  by  no  means  agreeable  to  him.  Indeed,  it  is  proba- 
ble, that  the  queen  had  no  serious  intentions  of  effecting 
this  marriage,  and  that  her  design  was  merely  to  gain 
time,  and  elude  the  project  of  any  other  alliance  ;  for  when 
Mary,  in  the  hopes  of  being  declared  successor  to  the 
crown,  seemed  to  listen  to  the  proposal,  Elizabeth  receded 
from  her  offers,  and  withdrew  the  bait  which  she  had 
thrown  out  to  her  rival. 

After  two  years  spent  in  evasions  and  artifices,  Mary 
married  lord  Darnley,  son  to  the  earl  of  Lenox,  her  cousin- 
german,  by  the  lady  Margaret  Douglas,  niece  to  Henry 
VIII. ;  and  as  he  was,  after  his  spouse,  next  heir  to  the 
crown  of  England,  this  marriage  seemed  to  strengthen 
and  unite  both  their  claims. 

Elizabeth  was  secretly  not  displeased  with  this  marriage, 
though  she  would  rather  have  wished  that  Mary  had  re- 
mained single ;  yet  she  menaced,  protested,  and  complain- 
ed, as  if  she  had  suffered  the  most  grievous  injury.  It 
served  her  as  a  pretence  for  refusing  to  acknowledge  Ma- 
ry's title  to  the  succession  of  England,  and  for  encouraging 
the  discontents  of  the  Scottish  nobility  and  clergy,  to 
whom  she  promised  support  in  their  rebellious  enterprises. 

Mary,  however,  was  no  sooner  informed  of  the  designs 
forming  against  her  by  the  duke  of  Chatelrault,  the  earls 
of  Murray,  Argyle,  Rothes,  and  Glencairn,  and  some 
others,  than  she  assembled  her  forces,  and  obliged  those 
rebel  noblemen  to  leave  their  country,  and  take  shelter  in 
England. 

Elizabeth,  when  she  found  the  event  so  much  to  disap- 
point her  expectations,  disavowed  all  connexion  with  the 
Scottish  malcontents,  and  even  drove  them  from  her  pre- 
sence.    The  banished  lords  had  now  recourse  to  the  cle- 


240  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

mency  of  their  own  sovereign ;  and  Mary  seemed  inclined 
to  restore  them  to  favour ;  but  her  uncle,  the  cardinal  of 
Lorraine,  to  whose  opinion  she  always  paid  the  greatest 
deference,  advised  her  by  no  means  to  pardon  the  protes- 
tant  leaders. 

The  cardinal  of  Lorraine  had  been  a  chief  instrument  in 
forming  an  association  between  Philip  and  Catharine  of 
Medicis,  for  the  extermination  of  the  protestants  ;  and  he 
took  care  that  the  measures  of  the  queen  of  Scots  should 
correspond  with  the  violent  councils  embraced  by  the  other 
catholic  princes.  A  parliament  was  summoned  at  Edin- 
burgh for  attainting  the  banished  lords,  who  were  saved 
from  the  rigour  of  the  law  only  by  the  ruin  of  Mary  herself. 

The  marriage  of  the  queen  of  Scots  with  lord  Darnley 
was  so  precipitate,  that  while  she  was  allured  by  his  youth 
and  beauty,  and  exterior  accomplishments,  she  had  not 
observed  that  the  qualities  of  his  mind  by  no  means  cor- 
responded with  the  excellence  of  his  person.  He  was  vio- 
lent, insolent,  and  ungrateful ;  addicted  to  low  pleasures, 
and  incapable  of  the  sentiments  of  love  and  domestic  en- 
dearment. The  queen  of  Scots,  in  the  first  effusions  of 
her  fondness,  had  granted  him  the  title  of  king,  and  had 
joined  his  name  with  her  own  in  all  public  acts ;  but  ob- 
serving his  weakness  and  vices,  she  began  to  see  the  dan- 
ger of  her  profuse  liberality ;  and  the  young  prince,  en- 
raged at  her  imaginary  neglects,  pointed  his  vengeance 
against  every  one  whom  he  deemed  the  cause  of  this 
change  in  her  measures  and  behaviour. 

There  happened  to  be  in  the  court  one  David  Rizzio,  a 
Piedmontese  musician,  of  mean  birth,  who,  by  his  profes- 
sional talents,  and  the  arts  of  address,  had  insinuated  him- 
self into  the  favour  of  Mary.  He  became  her  secretary 
for  French  despatches;  he  was  consulted  on  all  occa- 
sions ;  favours  of  honour  or  emolument  could  be  obtained 
only  through  his  intercession ;  and  his  insolence  and  ra- 
pacity drew  on  himself  the  hatred^  of  the  nobility  and  of 
the  whole  kingdom.        '  j 

On  the  change  of  the  queen's  sentiments,  it  was  easy 
for  Darnley's  friends  to  persuade  him  that  Rizzio  was  the 
real  author  of  her  indifference,  and  even  to  excite  in  his 
mind  jealousies  of  a  more  dangerous  nature ;  and  the 
king,  by  the  advice  of  several  of  the  courtiers,  determined 
on  the  assassination  of  Rizzio.     Mary,  in  the  sixth  month 


ELIZABETH.  241 

of  her  pregnancy,  was  supping  in  private  with  the  countess 
of  Argyle,  Rizzio,  and  others  of  her  servants,  when  the 
king  entered  the  room  by  a  private  passage,  and  stood  at 
the  back  of  Mary's  chair.  Lord  Ruthven,  George  Doug- 
las, and  other  conspirators,  rushed  in  after  him ;  and  Riz- 
zio, aware  of  the  danger,  ran  behind  his  mistress  for  pro- 
tection; but  in  spite  of  her  cries,  and  menaces,  and  en- 
treaties, Douglas  struck  a  dagger  into  the  body  of  Rizzio, 
who  was  then  dragged  into  the  anti-chamber,  and  des- 
patched with  fifty-six  wounds.  The  unhappy  queen,  in- 
formed of  his  fate,  immediately  dried  up  her  tears,  «jnd 
said  she  would  weep  no  more,  but  think  of  revenge. 

The  conspirators  applied  to  the  earl  of  Bothwell,  a  new 
favourite,  and  that  nobleman  pacified  Mary ;  but  she  was 
implacable  against  her  husband,  whom  she  rendered  the 
object  of  universal  contempt.  He  was  permitted,  howe- 
ver, to  have  apartments  in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  where 
Mary  was  delivered  of  a  son ;  and  sir  James  Melvil  was 
sent  with  the  intelligence  of  this  happy  event  to  England. 
Melvil  tells  us,  that  Elizabeth  had  given  a  ball  to  her  court 
at  Greenwich  the  evening  of  his  arrival  in  London,  and 
was  displaying  all  her  usual  spirit  and  gayety ;  but  when 
news  arrived  of  the  prince  of  Scotland's  birth,  all  her  joy 
was  damped,  and  she  complained  to  some  of  her  atten- 
dants, that  the  queen  of  Scots  was  mother  of  a  son,  while 
she  was  only  a  barren  stock. 

The  birth  of  a  son  gave  additional  zeal  to  Mary's  par- 
tisans in  England,  where  her  conduct  also  procured  her 
universal  esteem  ;  but  these  flattering  prospects  were  sud- 
denly blasted  by  her  egregious  indiscretion  at  least,  or,  as 
some  are  still  inclined  to  suppose,  by  her  atrocious  guilt. 

The  earl  of  Bothwell  was  a  man  of  considerable  power 
in  Scotland,  but  of  profligate  manners.  He  had  acquired 
the  favour  and  entire  confidence  of  Mary ;  and  reports 
were  spread  of  too  great  an  intimacy  between  them,  though 
Bothwell  was  a  married  man.  These  reports  gained  ground 
from  the  increased  hatred  of  the  queen  towards  her  hus- 
band, who,  sensible  of  the  neglects  which  he  underwent, 
had  it  in  contemplation  to  retire  into  France  or  Spain. 

While  affairs  were  in  this  unpleasant  situation,  Darnley 

was  seized  with  an  illness  of  an  extraordinary  nature ; 

and  the  queen  visiting  him  during  his  sickness,  treated  him 

with  great  tenderness,  and  a  cordial  reconciliation  seemed 

21 


242  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

to  have  been  brought  about  between  them.  The  king, 
naturally  uxorious,  put  himself  implicitly  into  her  hands ; 
and  as  the  concourse  of  people  about  the  court  might  dis- 
turb him  in  his  infirm  state  of  health,  Mary  assigned  him 
a  lodging  in  a  solitary  house,  called  the  Kirk  of  Field.  In 
this  situation,  the  queen  gave  him  marks  of  kindness  and 
attention,  and  lay  some  nights  in  a  room  below  his ;  but, 
on  the  9th  of  February,  she  told  him,  that  she  would  pass 
that  night  in  the  palace,  because  the  marriage  of  one  of 
her  servants  was  there  to  be  celebrated  in  her  presence. 
About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  whole  city  of  Edin- 
burgh was  alarmed  by  a  great  noise ;  and  it  was  discover- 
ed, that  the  house  in  which  the  king  lay  had  been  blown 
up  by  gunpowder,  and  that  his  dead  body  had  been  carried 
by  the  violence  of  the  explosion  into  a  neighbouring  field. 

The  general  opinion  was,  that  Bothwell  was  the  author 
of  this  horrible  crime  ;  and  the  earl  of  Lenox,  Darnley's 
father,  implored  speedy  justice  against  him  and  the  other 
assassins.  Mary  allowed  only  fifteen  days  for  the  exami- 
nation of  this  important  affair;  and  as  Bothwell  still  pos- 
sessed the  confidence  of  the  queen,  and  enjoyed  his  former 
authority,  Lenox  entertained  just  apprehensions  from  the 
power,  insolence,  and  temerity  of  his  enemy.  As,  there- 
fore, neither  accuser  nor  witness  appeared  at  the  trial, 
Bothwell  was  absolved  from  the  king's  murder ;  but  the 
verdict  in  his  favour  was  attended  with  circumstances 
which  strongly  confirmed  the  general  opinion  of  his  guilt. 
Mary,  having  gone  to  visit  her  son  at  Stirling,  was  seized 
by  Bothwell,  and  ostensibly  carried  off  against  her  will, 
with  the  avowed  design  of  forcing  her  to  yield  to  his  pur- 
pose. Some  of  the  nobility  sent  the  queen  a  private  mes- 
sage, that  if  she  lay  under  force,  they  would  use  all  their 
efforts  to  rescue  her ;  but  the  queen  professed  herself  satis- 
fied with  Bothwell's  conduct,  and  granted  him  a  pardon 
for  the  violence  committed  on  her  person,  and  for  all  other 
crimes. 

Soon  after  this  infamous  transaction,  Bothwell  obtained 

•  rce  from  his  wife ;  and  Mary,  with  indecent  precipi- 

raised  him  to  her  bed  and  to  her  throne.    Elizabeth 

tstrated,  by  friendly  letters  and  messages,  against  the 

ft  age  ;  the  court  of  France  did  the  same ;  but  Mary 

paid  no  regard  to  the  advice  she  received,  and  seemed  to 

scorn  the  united  censures  of  Europe. 


ELIZABETH.  243 

At  length  the  spirit  of  the  nation  was  roused ;  and  lord 
Hume,  with  a  body  of  eight  hundred  horse,  suddenly  en- 
vironed the  queen  of  Scots  and  Bothwell  in  the  castle  of 
Both  wick.  They  found  means,  however,  of  making  their 
escape ;  but  Mary  was  obliged  to  put  herself  into  the  hands 
of  the  confederates.  She  was  conducted  to  Edinburgh, 
amidst  the  insults  of  the  populace,  who  reproached  her  for 
her  crimes,  and  who  held  before  her  eyes,  which  way  so- 
ever she  turned,  a  banner,  on  which  were  painted  the  mur- 
der of  her  husband  and  the  distress  of  her  infant  son. 
Bothwell,  meanwhile,  found  means  to  reach  the  Orkneys, 
whence  he  escaped  to  Denmark,  where  he  was  thrown  in- 
to prison,  and  losing  his  senses,  died  about  ten  years  after, 
in  extreme  misery. 

Mary  was  sent  under  a  guard  to  the  castle  of  Lochleven, 
where  the  associated  lords  refused  Throgmorton,  the  Eng- 
lish ambassador,  all  access  to  her ;  and  various  schemes 
were  proposed  for  the  treatment  of  the  captive  queen.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  earl  of  Murray  was  appointed  regent, 
and  Mary  signed  a  deed,  by  which  she  resigned  the  crown 
in  favour  of  her  son.  In  consequence  of  this  forced  re- 
nunciation, the  young  prince  was  proclaimed  king,  by  the 
name  of  James  VI. ;  and  he  was  soon  after  crowned  at 
Stirling,  where  the  earl  of  Morton  took  the  coro- 
nation oath  in  his  name.  Mary,  however,  found  /elk 
means  to  escape  from  Lochleven :  and  being  joined 
by  many  of  the  nobility,  an  army  of  six  thousand  men  was 
assembled,  in  a  few  days,  under  her  standard.  The  regent 
instantly  took  the  field  against  her;  and,  coming  to  an  en- 
gagement at  Langside,  near  Glasgow,  the  queen's  forces 
were  entirely  defeated. 

The  unhappy  Mary  fled  from  the  field  of  battle,  with  a 
few  adherents,  to  the  borders  of  England ;  and  rashly  con- 
fiding to  some  late  specious  professions  of  Elizabeth,  she 
embarked  on  board  a  fishing  boat  in  Galloway,  and  landed 
the  same  day  at  Workington,  in  Cumberland ;  whence 
she  immediately  despatched  a  messenger  to  London,  to 
notify  her  arrival,  to  request  leave  to  visit  Elizabe*1  id 
to  crave  her  protection. 

Elizabeth,  seeing  her  rival  thus  in  her  power 
rather  to  the  dictates  of  policy  than  generosity     ' 
lord  Scrope  and  sir  Francis  Knollis  to  inform  her,  thai  her 
request  of  being  allowed  to  visit  their  sovereign  could  not 


244  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

be  complied  with,  till  she  had  cleared  herself  of  her  hus- 
band's murder.  On  receiving  this  intelligence,  Mary  burst 
into  tears  ;  and  the  necessity  of  her  situation  extorted  from 
her  a  declaration,  that  she  would  submit  her  cause  to  the 
arbitration  of  her  sister  of  England.  The  regent  of  Scot- 
land, too,  professed  his  readiness  to  abide  by  the  determi- 
nation of  Elizabeth.  Mary  was  removed  to  Bolton,  in 
Yorkshire,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  lord  Scrope ;  and 
the  issue  of  this  affair  was  regarded  as  an  object  of  the 
greatest  moment  to  the  interests  and  security  of  Elizabeth. 
Commissioners  were  appointed  on  the  part  of  England, 
of  Mary,  and  of  the  regent,  representing  the  king  and 
kingdom  of  Scotland,  and  met  at  York,  where  this  grand 
inquiry  commenced.  Under  pretext,  however,  that  the 
distance  from  her  person  retarded  the  proceedings  of  the 
commissioners,  Elizabeth  removed  the  conferences  to 
Hampton-court. 

When  Murray,  the  regent,  was  called  upon  for  proofs 
of  his  charge  against  Mary,  he  produced  before  the  com- 
missioners some  love-letters  and  sonnets,  and  a  promise  of 
marriage  to  Bothwell,  before  his  trial  and  acquittal,  all 
written  in  the  hand  of  the  queen  of  Scots.  These  were 
incontestible  evidences  of  her  imprudence,  and  of  her  cri- 
minal correspondence  with  Bothwell,  however  they  may 
be  considered  in  regard  to  her  consent  to  the  murder  oi 
her  husband ;  but  as  Mary  had  instructed  her  commis- 
sioners not  to  make  a  defence,  if  any  thing  were  advanced 
that  touched  her  honour,  as  she  was  a  sovereign  princess, 
and  could  not  be  subject  to  a  foreign  tribunal,  though  she 
professed  her  readiness  to  justify  her  innocence  to  Eliza- 
beth in  person,  the  conferences  terminated,  and  no  deci- 
sion was  given. 

The  queen  of  Scots  was  now  removed  from  Bolton  to 
Tutbury,  in  Staffordshire,  and  put  under  the  care  of  the 
earl  of  Shrewsbury.  Elizabeth  entertained  hopes,  that  she 
would  either  resign  the  crown,  or  associate  her  son  with 
her  in  the  government,  and  leave  the  administration  in 
the  hands  of  Murray  during  her  son's  minority ;  but  the 
high  spirited  Mary  declared,  that  her  last  words  should  be 
those  of.  a  queen  of  Scotland ;  and  she  insisted  either  that 
Elizabeth  should  assist  her  in  recovering  her  authority,  or 
give  her  liberty  to  retire  into  France.    Elizabeth,  how- 


ELIZABETH,  245 

ever,  refused  both  these  proposals,  and  determined  to  de- 
tain her  still  a  captive. 

The  duke  of  Norfolk,  the  only  peer  that  enjoyed  the 
highest  title  of  nobility,  and  the  most  powerful  subject  in 
England,  was  at  this  time  a  widower ;  and  his  marriage 
with  the  queen  of  Scots  appeared  desirable  to  several  of 
his  friends  and  those  of  that  princess.  The  scheme  was 
made  known  to  Norfolk,  who,  afraid  of  disclosing  his  in- 
tentions to  Elizabeth,  endeavoured  to  increase  his  interest 
in  the  kingdom,  by  engaging  the  nobility  to  favour  the 
measure.  Mary  was  applied  to  on  the  subject,  and  re- 
turned a  favourable  answer.  The  kings  of  France  and 
Spain  were  secretly  consulted,  and  expressed  their  appro- 
bation of  the  measure ;  and  though  Elizabeth's  consent 
was  always  held  out  as  a  previous  condition  of  finishing 
this  alliance,  it  was  apparently  the  duke's  intention  to 
render  his  party  too  formidable  to  be  resisted. 

Elizabeth  was  not  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  plan, 
and  even  intimated  to  the  duke  the  necessity  of  caution ; 
but  he  wanted  either  prudence  or  courage  to  make  known 
to  her  his  full  intentions ;  and  when  the  court  of  England 
received  certain  information  of  this  dangerous  combina- 
tion, the  alarm  became  extreme.  Norfolk  and  many  of 
his  friends  were  arrested ;  and  the  queen  of  Scots  was 
removed  to  Coventry,  and  all  access  to  her,  for  a  time, 
was  more  strictly  prohibited. 

The  conspirators,  among  whom  were  the  earls  of  Nor- 
thumberland and  Westmoreland,  appealed  to  arms ;  and 
about  four  thousand  foot  and  sixteen  hundred  horse  took 
the  field,  and  expected  the  concurrence  of  all  the  catholics 
in  England.  The  duke  of  Norfolk,  however,  not  only  dis- 
countenanced these  proceedings,  but  employed  all  his  in- 
terest to  suppress  the  rebellion  ;  which  being  effected  in  a 
short  time,  the  queen  was  so  well  pleased  with  his  beha- 
viour, that  she  released  him  from  the  tower,  and  only  ex- 
acted a  promise  from  him,  not  to  proceed  any  farther  in 
his  negotiations  with  the  queen  of  Scots. 

After  an  interval  of  five  years,  a  new  parliament  was  as- 
sembled, in  which  appeared  the  dawn  of  spirit  and  liberty 
among  the  English.  The  puritans  agitated  several  ques- 
tions respecting  religion ;  and  Strickland,  a  member  of 
the  house  of  commons,  moved  a  bill  for  the  amendment  of 
21* 


246  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

the  liturgy.  This  was  highly  resented  by  the  queen,  who 
was,  if  possible,  still  more  jealous  of  what  regarded  reli- 
gion, than  of  matters  of  state.  She  summoned  Strickland 
before  the  council,  and  prohibited  him  from  appearing  in 
the  house  of  commons ;  but  finding  that  her  conduct  was 
likely  to  excite  a  great  ferment,  she  sent  him  permission 
to  give  Ins  attendance  in  parliament.  Elizabeth,  however, 
would  not  allow  the  parliament  to  discuss  any  matters  of 
state,  and  still  less  to  meddle  with  the  church.  For  a  long 
period,  the  chief  business  for  which  parliament  was  as- 
sembled was,  to  grant  subsidies,  to  attaint  and  punish  the 
obnoxious  nobility,  and  to  countenance  such  great  efforts 
of  power  as  might  be  deemed  somewhat  exceptionable, 
when  they  proceeded  entirely  from  the  sovereign.  The 
queen,  as  she  was  determined  to  yield  none  of  her  power, 
was  very  cautious  in  asking  the  parliament  for  any  supply. 
She  endeavoured,  by  a  rigid  frugality,  to  make  her  ordi- 
nary revenues  suffice  for  the  necessities  of  the  crown  ;  or 
she  employed  her  prerogative,  and  procured  money  by  the 
granting  of  patents  and  monopolies,  or  by  some  such 
ruinous  expedient. 

The  bigotry  of  Philip,  and  the  inhuman  severity  of  his 
representative,  the  duke  of  Alva,  had  filled  the  Low  Coun- 
tries with  confiscation,  imprisonment,  exile,  and  death. 
Elizabeth  gave  protection  to  all  the  Flemings  who  took 
shelter  in  her  dominions,  and  reaped  the  advantage  of  in- 
troducing into  England  some  useful  manufactures  which 
were  before  unknown.  Alva,  whose  measures  were  ever 
violent,  entered  into  a  scheme  with  the  Spanish  ambassa- 
dor, and  one  Rodolphi,  a  Florentine  merchant,  for  uniting 
the  catholics  and  Mary  queen  of  Scots  in  a  confederacy 
against  Elizabeth.  The  duke  of  Norfolk,  despairing  of 
the  confidence  and  favour  of  Elizabeth,  was  tempted  to 
violate  his  word,  and  to  open  anew  his  correspondence 
with  the  captive  queen.  A  promise  of  marriage  was  re- 
newed between  them ;  and  the  duke  gave  his  consent  to 
enterprises  still  more  criminal. 

The  new  conspiracy  had  hitherto  escaped  the  vigilance 
*>f  Elizabeth,  and  of  Cecil,  now  lord  Burleigh ;  but  one  of 
the  duke's  servants  betrayed  his  master ;  and  the  evidence 
of  the  bishop  of  Ross  proved  the  guilt  of  Norfolk  beyond 
all  doubt.    A  jury  of  twenty-five  peers  passed  sentence 


ELIZABETH.  247 

upon  him  ;  but  the  queen  hesitated  to  put  the  sen- 
tence  in  execution.     At  length,  after  a  delay  of  four  j^ 
months,  the  fatal  warrant  was  signed ;  and  Nor- 
folk died,  acknowledging  the  justice  of  his  sentence. 

The  queen  of  Scots  was  charged  by  Elizabeth  as  the 
cause  of  these  disturbances ;  and  though  Mary  endeavour- 
ed to  justify  herself,  the  queen  was  little  satisfied  with  her 
apology,  and  the  parliament  applied  for  her  immediate 
trial ;  but  Elizabeth  forbade  them  to  proceed  farther  in  the 
affair,  and  only  increased  the  rigour  and  strictness  of  her 
confinement. 

The  same  views  which  engaged  the  queen  to  support  the 
Hugonots  in  France,  would  have  led  her  to  assist  the  dis- 
tressed protestants  in  the  Low  Countries ;  but  the  mighty 
power  of  Philip  kept  her  in  awe,  and  obliged  her  to  deny 
the  Flemish  exiles  an  entrance  into  her  dominions.  The 
people,  however,  enraged  by  the  cruelty,  oppression,  and 
persecution  under  which  they  suffered,  flew  to  arms. 
Holland  and  Zealand  revolted  ;  and  under  the  auspices  Of 
the  prince  of  Orange,  the  whole  Batavian  provinces  united 
in  a  league  against  the  tyranny  of  Spain.  By  a  solemn 
embassy,  the  Flemings  offered  Elizabeth  the  sovereignty 
of  these  provinces,  if  she  would  exert  her  power  in  their 
defence  ;  but  as  she  was  never  ambitious  of  conquests,  or 
of  new  acquisitions,  she  declined  the  proffered  sovereignty. 
The  queen,  however,  sent  the  revolters  a  sum  of  money, 
and  concluded  a  treaty  with  them,  in  which  she  stipulated 
to  assist  them  with  five  thousand  foot,  and  a  thousand  horse, 
at  the  charge  of  the  Flemings.  It  was  farther  agreed,  that 
the  new  States,  as  they  began  to  call  themselves,  should 
enter  into  no  alliance  without  her  consent,  and  if  any  dis- 
cord should  arise  among  them,  it  was  to  be  referred  to  her 
arbitration.  She  was  desirous  of  making  the  king  of  Spain 
believe  that  her  sole  motive  for  entering  into  a  treaty  with 
the  States,  was  to  prevent  them  from  throwing  themselves 
into  the  arms  of  France  ;  and  Philip  dissembled  his  resent- 
ment against  the  queen,  and  waited  for  an  opportunity  of 
taking  his  revenge. 

Elizabeth  was  extremely  anxious  to  support  an  interest 
in  Scotland,  because  that  country  alone  afforded  her  ene- 
mies the  means  of  attacking  her,  and  because  she  was  sen- 
sible that  the  Guises  had  engaged  Mary  to  have  recourse 
to  the  powerful  protection  of  Philip.    That  prince,  under 


248  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

the  name  of  the  pope,  sent  a  body  of  seven  hundred  Spa- 
niards and  Italians  into  Ireland ;  but  they  were  soon  obliged 
to  surrender ;  and  when  the  English  ambassador  complain- 
ed of  the  invasion,  he  was  answered  by  similar  complaints 
of  the  piracies  committed  by  Drake  in  the  new  world. 

This  brave  officer,  setting  sail  from  Plymouth  in  1577, 
with  four  ships  and  a  pinnace,  on  board  of  which  were  one 
hundred  and  sixty-four  men,  passed  the  Straits  of  Magel- 
lan, attacked  the  Spaniards  in  South  America,  and  cap- 
tured many  rich  prizes.  He  was  the  first  Englishman 
that  completed  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  ;  and  he 
returned  safely  to  his  native  country,  after  a  voyage  of 
more  than  three  years. 

In  order  to  avert  the  resentment  of  Spain,  the  queen 

was  persuaded  to  disavow  the  enterprise  ;  but  she 

tkftO  determined  to  countenance  this  gallant  officer,  on 

whom  she  conferred  the  honour  of  knighthood,  and 

accepted  of  a  banquet  at  Greenwich,  on  board  the  ship 

which  had  performed  such  a  memorable  voyage. 

The  duke  of  Alen^on,  now  created  duke  of  Anjou,  nearly 
twenty-five  years  younger  than  the  queen,  became  a  suitor 
of  Elizabeth.  He  came  over  to  England  in  order  to  pro- 
secute his  suit ;  and  the  reception  which  he  met  with  made 
him  expect  complete  success.  On  the  anniversary  of  her 
coronation,  the  queen  was  observed  to  take  a  ring  from 
her  own  finger,  and  put  it  upon  his :  and  all  the  specta- 
tors concluded,  that  in  this  ceremony,  she  had  given  him 
a  promise  of  marriage,  and  was  even  desirous  of  signify- 
ing her  intentions  to  all  the  world.  Reflections,  however, 
on  the  probable  consequences  of  this  marriage,  filled  the 
mind  of  the  queen  with  anxiety  and  irresolution ;  but,  at 
length,  prudence  and  ambition  prevailed  over  her  affec- 
tions ;  and  she  dismissed  the  duke  with  some  apologies. 
He  expressed  great  disgust  on  his  leaving  her,  and  uttered 
many  curses  on  the  mutability  of  women  and  of  islanders. 

The  affairs  of  Scotland  again  strongly  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  the  queen.  A  conspiracy  of  the  discontented 
nobles  was  formed,  probably  with  the  concurrence 

lkft2  °^  Elizabeth,  for  seizing  the  person  of  James  at 

loo^  Ruthven,  a  seat  belonging  to  the  earl  of  Gowry,  one 
of  the  conspirators.  The  king  wept  when  he  found  him- 
self a  prisoner  ;  but  the  master  of  Glamis  said,  ••  No  mat- 
ter for  his  tears :  it  is  better  that  boys  weep  than  bearded 


ELIZABETH.  249 

men."  This  expression  James,  never  forgave;  but  he  ac- 
quiesced in  his  own  detention,  and  agreed  to  summon  both 
an  assembly  of  the  church,  and  a  convention  of  the  estates, 
in  order  to  ratify  that  enterprise. 

The  queen  of  Scots  had  often  made  overtures  to  Eliza- 
beth, which  had  been  entirely  neglected ;  but  hearing  of 
James's  confinement,  she  wrote  in  the  most  pathetic  man- 
ner to  the  queen,  entreating  her  to  raise  them  both  from 
their  present  melancholy  situation,  and  reinstate  them  in 
that  liberty  and  authority  to  which  they  were  entitled.  This 
humble  application  produced  little  effect,  though  some  os- 
tensible steps  were  taken ;  but  James,  impatient  of  re- 
straint, escaped  from  his  keepers,  and  fleeing  to  St.  An- 
drews, summoned  his  friends  and  partisans  to  attend  him. 
The  opposite  party  found  themselves  unable  to  resist,  and 
were  offered  a  pardon  on  their  submission.  Some  of  them 
accepted  the  terms  ;  but  the  greater  part  left  the  country, 
and  took  shelter  in  Ireland  or  England,  where  they  were 
protected  by  Elizabeth. 

The  queen  sent  Walsingham  into  Scotland,  on  purpose 
to  penetrate  the  character  of  James  ;  and  as  James  excel- 
led in  general  discourse  and  conversation,  that  minister 
conceived  a  higher  opinion  of  his  talents  than  he  really  de- 
served ;  and  from  the  favourable  report  of  his  capacity, 
Elizabeth  was  inclined  to  treat  the  young  king  with  more 
respect  than  she  had  hitherto  done.  The  revolutions  in 
Scotland,  however,  would  have  been  little  regarded,  had 
not  the  zeal  of  the  catholics  daily  threatened  her  with 
some  dangerous  insurrection.  Many  of  the  plots  which 
had  been  discovered,  were  imputed  to  the  intrigues  of 
Mary  ;  and  the  parliament  passed  a  resolution  "  to  defend 
the  queen,  to  revenge  her  death,  or  any  injury  committed 
against  her,  and  to  exclude  from  the  throne  all  claimants, 
what  title  soever  they  might  possess,  by  whose  suggestion, 
or  for  whose  behoof,  any  violence  should  be  offered  to  her 
majesty."  The  queen  of  Scots  was  sensible  that  this  was 
intended  against  her ;  and  to  remove  all  suspicion  from 
herself,  she  desired  leave  to  subscribe  this  resolution. 

During  the  same  session,  a  conspiracy  was  discovered, 
which  greatly  increased  the  animosity  against  the  catho- 
lics.    One  William  Parry,  who  had  received  the 
queen's  pardon  for  a  capital  crime,  was  instigated  * 'J?! 
by  some  Romanist  of  high  rank  and  authority  to 


250  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

attempt  the  life  of  the  queen,  by  shooting  at  her  while  she 
was  taking  the  air  on  horseback.  The  conspiracy,  how- 
ever, was  betrayed  by  one  of  his  associates  ;  and  Parry 
being  thrown  into  prison,  confessed  the  guilt,  and  suffered 
the  punishment  of  death. 

About  the  same  time,  the  prince  of  Orange  perished  at 
Delft,  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin  ;  and  the  States  sent  a 
solemn  embassy  to  London,  and  made  anew  an  offer  to  the 
queen,  of  acknowledging  her  for  their  sovereign,  on  con- 
dition of  obtaining  her  protection  and  assistance.  Eliza- 
beth, however,  again  declined  the  sovereignty,  but  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  the  States,  and  sent  the  earl  of  Lei- 
cester with  a  considerable  army  to  their  relief. 

The  queen,  while  she  provoked  so  powerful  an  enemy 
as  the  king  of  Spain,  by  her  open  aid  to  the  revolted  Fle- 
mings, took  care  to  secure  herself  on  the  side  of  Scotland, 
by  forming  an  alliance  with  James  for  the  mutual  defence 
of  their  dominions,  and  of  their  religion,  now  menaced  by 
the  open  combination  of  all  the  catholic  powers  of  Europe. 
But  the  unfortunate  Mary,  whose  impatience  of  confine- 
ment and  unsubdued  spirit,  together  with  her  zeal  for 
popery,  impelled  to  the  most  desperate  acts,  engaged  in 
designs  against  Elizabeth,  which  afforded  her  enemies  a 
reason  or  pretence  for  effecting  her  complete  ruin. 

Ballard,  a  Romish  priest,  encouraged  by  the  hopes  of 
succours  from  the  pope,  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  duke  of 
Guise,  came  over  to  England,  and  bent  his  endeavours  to 
effect  at  once  an  assassination,  an  insurrection,  and  an  in- 
vasion. The  first  person  to  whom  he  confided  his  inten- 
tions was  Anthony  Babington,  a  young  gentleman  of  Der- 
byshire, who  was  ardent  in  the  cause  of  Mary  and  of  the 
catholic  religion.  Babington  employed  himself  in  increa- 
sing the  number  of  the  associates  in  this  desperate  under- 
taking ;  and  he  communicated  the  project  to  Mary,  who 
approved  highly  of  the  design,  and  who  observed,  that  the 
death  of  Elizabeth  was  necessary,  before  any  other  attempt 
should  be  made.  Ballard,  however,  being  arrested,  his 
confederates  became  alarmed,  and  took  to  flight ;  but  be- 
ing seized,  they  were  tried,  condemned,  and  executed. 

The  lesser  conspirators  being  thus  depatched,  measures 
were  taken  for  the  trial  of  the  queen  of  Scots,  who  was 
conducted  to  Fotheringay  castle,  in  the  county  of  North- 
ampton.   A  commission,  consisting  of  forty  noblemen  and 


ELIZABETH.  252 

privy-counsellors,  was  appointed  and  empowered  to  pass 
sentence  on  Mary,  who  was  described  in  the  instrument  as 
late  queen  of  Scots,  and  heiress  to  James  V.  of  Scotland. 

On  this  awful  occasion,  Mary  behaved  with  great  dig- 
nity. She  protested  her  innocence,  and  declared  that 
Elizabeth  had  no  authority  over  her,  who  was  an  indepen- 
dent sovereign,  and  hot  amenable  to  the  laws  of  England. 
Her  objections,  however,  were  over-ruled ;  her  letters,  and 
the  confessions  of  the  conspirators,  were  produced  in  evi- 
dence against  her ;  and  a  few  days  after,  sentence  of  death 
was  pronounced  against  her.  Both  houses  of  parliament 
ratified  this  sentence,  which  was  certainly  illegal,  if  not 
unjust;  and  they  urged  the  queen  to  consent  to  its  publi- 
cation and  execution. 

Elizabeth,  however,  affected  great  reluctance  to  execute 
the  sentence  against  Mary,  and  asked  if  it  were  not  possi- 
ble to  secure  the  public  tranquility  by  some  other  expe- 
dient than  the  death  of  the  queen  of  Scots ;  but  when 
foreign  powers  interfered,  and  interceded  in  behalf  of  the 
unfortunate  Mary,  Elizabeth  became  obdurate,  and  deter- 
mined to  execute  the  sentence.  The  interposition  of 
James,  who  remonstrated  in  very  severe  terms  in  favour  of 
his  njother,  was  unavailing ;  and  Elizabeth,  tired  with  un- 
ity, and  dreading  the  consequences,  ordered  Davi- 
pr  secretary,  privately  to  draw  a  warrant  for  the 
on  of  the  queen  of  Scots ;  which,  she  afterwards 
she  intended  to  keep  by  her,  in  case  any  attempt 
be  made  to  rescue  Mary.  She  signed  the  warrant, 
ommanded  Davison  to  procure  the  great  seal  to  be 
to  it ;  but  when  Davison  told  her  that  the  warrant 
the  great  seal,  she  blamed  his  precipitation, 
"quainted  the  council  with  the  transaction  ;  and 
lured  to  persuade  him  to  send  off  the  warrant, 
ake  on  themselves  the  whole  blame  of  the 
secretary,  not  sufficiently  aware  of  their 
lied  with  the  advice  ;  and  the  warrant  was 
larls  of  Shrewsbury  and  Kent,  and  some 
to  see  the  sentence  executed  on  the 


purpris 
fore  her   s 
them,  anc 


commission,  though  somewhat 

voms  of  fear.     The  night  be- 

,in  all  her  servants,  drank  to 

n  farewell.     Next  morning 


252  *  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

she  dressed  herself  in  a  rich  habit  of  silk  and  velvet ;  and 
having  declared  her  resolution  to  die  in  the  ancient  catho- 
lic and  Roman  religion,  her  head  was  severed  from  her 
body  by  the  executioner.  Thus  perished,  in  the 
,  Vo^  forty-fifth  year  of  her  age,  and  the  nineteenth  of 
her  captivity  in  England,  Mary,  queen  of  Scots,  a 
woman  of  great  accomplishments,  both  of  body  and  mind. 
The  beauty  oi  her  person,  and  the  charms  of  her  address 
and  conversation,  rendered  her  the  most  amiable  of  wo- 
men. Whether  we  consider  her  faults  as  imprudences  or 
crimes,  cenain  it  is,  that  she  was  betrayed  into  actions 
which  can  with  difficulty  be  accounted  for,  and  which  ad- 
mit of  no  apology  or  extenuation.  In  her  numerous  mis- 
fortunes, we  forget  her  faults  ;  and  the  accomplishments 
which  she  possessed  render  us  insensible  to  the  errors  of 
her  conduct. 

When  Elizabeth  was  informed  of  the  execution  of  Ma- 
ry, she  affected  the  utmost  surprise  and  indignation.  She 
wrote  an  exculpatory  letter  to  James  ;  and  she  committed 
Davison  to  prison,  and  ordered  him  to  be  tried  for  a  mis- 
demeanor. He  was  condemned  to  imprisonment  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  queen,  and  to  pay  a  fine  which  reduced 
him  to  beggary. 

The  dissimulation  of  Elizabeth,  however,  was  tt 
to  deceive  any  person  ;  and  James  and  his  noblesis  of 
ed  nothing  but  revenge.     When,  however,  Jame^e  of 
coolly  to  reflect  on  the  consequences  of  a  war  with)  to 
land,  and  that  he  might  thereby  forfeit  the  certain  pi  in- 
of  his  succession  to  the  English  throne,  he  stifled/en-    - 
sentments,  and  gradually  entered  into  a  good  corner-  1- 
dence  with  the  court  of  England.  n  of  the 

While  Elizabeth  insured  tranquility  from  tji  increa- 
of  her  nearest  neighbour,  accounts  were  recee  under- 
vast  preparations  made  by  the  Spaniards  foMary,  who 
of  England,  and  for  the  entire  conquest  ofted,  that  the    • 
In  all  the  ports  of  Sicily,  Naples,  Spaj  other  attempt  •» 
Philip  had  for  some  time  been  equinng  arrested,  hi^«- 
common  size  and  force,  and  filling,^  to  flight ;  but  b  and 
provisions.     The  most  renown/ned,  and  executed  /  and 
Spain  were  ambitious  of  sh^hus  depatched,  mer  ot'  tnjs 
greaf  ^terprise  ;  and  the  Sfe  queen  of  Scots,  vus  °f  tneir 
power,  anu  -onfident  of  su$tle,  in  the  county  renominated 
this  armament  "The  Investing  of  forty  r 


ELIZABETH.  253 

Elizabeth,  finding  that  she  must  contend  for  her  crown 
with  the  whole  force  of  Spain,  made  preparations  for  re- 
sistance ;  and  though  her  force  seemed  very  inadequate 
to  oppose  so  powerful  an'  enemy,  every  place  in  the  king- 
dom discovered  the  greatest  readiness  in  defending  their 
liberty  and  religion,  by  contributing  ships,  men,  and  mo- 
ney. The  gentry  and  nobility  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
same  generous  career ;  and  all  the  loans  which  the  queen 
demanded  were  immediately  granted. 

Lord  Howard,  of  Effingham,  a  man  of  distinguished 
abilities,  was  appointed  admiral  of  the  fleet ;  and  Drake, 
Hawkins,  and  Frobisher,  the  most  renowned  seamen  in 
Europe,  served  under  him.  A  small  squadron,  commanded 
by  lord  Seymour,  second  son  of  the  protector  Somerset,  lay 
off  Dunkirk,  in  order  to  intercept  the  duke  of  Parma. 

The  troops  were  disposed  along  the  south  coast ;  and  a 
body  of  twenty-two  thousand  foot,  and  a  thousand  horse, 
under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Leicester,  was  stationed 
at  Tilbury,  in  order  to  cover  the  capital.  The  principal 
army  consisted  of  thirty-four  thousand  foot,  and  two  thou- 
sand horse,  commanded  by  lord  Hunsdon  ;  and  these  were 
reserved  for  guarding  the  queen's  person,  and  marching 
whithersoever  the  enemy  should  appear.  Men  of  reflec- 
tion, however,  entertained  the  greatest  apprehensions, 
when  they  considered  the  force  of  fifty  thousand  veteran 
Spaniards,  under  the  duke  of  Parma,  the  most  consum- 
mate general  of  the  age. 

The  queen  was  sensible  that  next  to  her  popularity,  the 
firmest  support  of  her  throne  consisted  in  the  zeal  of  the 
people  for  the  protestant  religion,  and  their  abhorrence  of 
popery.  She  reminded  the  English  of  their  former  danger 
from  the  tyranny  of  Spain ;  and  of  the  bloody  massacres 
in  the  Indies,  and  the  unrelenting  executions  in  the  Low 
Countries ;  and  a  list  was  published  of  the  several  instru- 
ments of  torture,  with  which,  it  Was  pretended,  the  Spanish 
armada  was  loaded.  The  more  to  excite  the  martial  spi-  . 
rit  of  the  nation,  the  queen  appeared  on  horseback  in  the 
camp  at  Tilbury ;  and  riding  through  the  lines,  she  ex- 
horted the  soldiers  to  remember  their  duty  to  their  country 
and  their  God,  declaring  that  she  would  rather  perish  in 
battle  than  survive  the  ruin  and  slavery  of  her  people. 
By  this  spirited  conduct  she  excited  the  admiration  of  the* 
soldiery ;  the  attachment  to  her  became  enthusiastic ;  and 
22 


254  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

all  swore  to  defend  the  glorious  cause  in  which  they  were 
engaged. 

The  armada,  after  sailing  from  Lisbon,  suffered  consi- 
derably from  storm  ;  but  the  damages  being  repaired,  the 
Spaniards  again  put  to  sea.  The  fleet  consisted  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  vessels,  of  which  one  hundred  were 
galleons,  and  of  larger  size  than  any  before  seen  in  Europe. 
On  board  were  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  men,  and  two 
thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty  great  pieces  of  brass 
ordnance.  Effingham,  who  was  stationed  at  Plymouth, 
had  just  time  to  get  out  of  port,  when  he  saw  the  armada 
advancing  towards  him,  disposed  in  the  form  of  a  crescent, 
and  stretching  the  distance  of  seven  miles  from  one  extre- 
mity to  the  other.  As  the  armada  advanced  up  the  chan- 
nel, the  English  hung  on  its  rear,  and  soon  found  that  the 
largeness  of  the  Spanish  ships  was  no  advantage  to  them. 
Their  bulk  exposed  them  the  more  to  the  fire  of  the  ene- 
my ;  while  their  cannon,  placed  too  high,  passed  over  the 
heads  of  the  English. 

The  armada  had  now  reached  Calais,  and  cast  anchor, 
in  expectation  that  the  duke  of  Parrna  would  put  to  sea 
and  join  them.  The  English  admiral,  however,  filling 
eight  of  his  smaller  ships  with  combustible  materials,  sent 
them  one  after  another  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy.  The 
Spaniards  were  so  much  alarmed,  that  they  immediately 
cut  their  cables,  and  fled  with  the  greatest  precipitation. 
The  English,  whose  fleet  now  amounted  to  one  hundred 
and  forty  sail,  fell  upon  them  next  morning  while  in  con- 
fusion ;  and,  besides  doing  great  damage  to  other  ships, 
they  took  or  destroyed  about  twelve  of  the  enemy. 

The  Spanish  admiral,  defeated  in  many  rencounters, 
and  perceiving  the  inevitable  destruction  of  his  fleet,  pre- 
pared to  return  homewards  ;  but  conducting  his  shattered 
ships  by  the  circuitous  route  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  a 
violent  tempest  overtook  them  near  the  Orkneys.  Many 
of  the  vessels  were  wrecked  on  the  western  isles  of  Scot- 
land, and  on  the  coast  of  Ireland  ;  and  not  one^alf  of  this 
mighty  armament  returned  to  Spain. 

The  discomfiture  of  the  armada  begat  in  the  nation  a 
kind  of  enthusiastic  passion  for  enterprises  against 

l  kftft  Spain ;  and  ships  were  hired,  as  well  as  arms  pro- 

.      vided,  at  the  expense  of  the  adventurers.     Among 

those  who  signalized  themselves  in  these  expeditions,  were 


ELIZABETH.  255 

Drake  and  Norris,  Grenville,  Howard,  and  the  earls  of 
Essex  and  Cumberland. 

The  war  in  the  Netherlands  still  continued ;  and  the 
king  of  Navarre,  a  protestant,  ascending  the  throne  of 
France  by  the  title  of  Henry  IV.,  a  great  part  of  the  no- 
bility immediately  deserted  him,  and  the  king  of  Spain  en- 
tertained views  either  of  dismembering  the  French  mo- 
narchy, or  of  annexing  the  whole  to  his  own  dominions. 
In  this  emergency,  Henry  addressed  himself  to  Elizabeth, 
who  sent  him  aid  both  in  men  and  money ;  and  the  Eng- 
lish auxiliaries  acquired  a  great  reputation  in  several  en- 
terprises, and  revived  in  France  the  fame  of  their  ancient 
valour. 

The  war  did  great  injury  to  Spain  ;  but  it  was  attended 
with  considerable  expense  to  England;  and  the  queen 
summoned  a  parliament  in  order  to  obtain  a  supply.  How- 
ever, it  is  evident  that  Elizabeth  e'ther  thought  her  autho- 
rity so  established  as  to  need  no  concessions  in  return,  or 
she  rated  her  prerogative  above  money.  When  sir  Edward 
Coke,  the  speaker,  made  to  her  the  then  three  usual  re- 
quests of  freedom  from  arrests,  access  to  her  person,  and 
liberty  of  speech,  she  declared  that  she  would  not  impeach 
the  freedom  of  their  persons,  nor  refuse  them  access  to  her, 
provided  it  were  upon  urgent  occasions,  and  when  she  was 
at  leisure  from  other  important  affairs  ;  but  that  they  were 
not  to  speak  every  one  what  he  listeth,  and  that  the  privi- 
lege of  speech  extended  no  farther  than  a  liberty  of  ay  or  no. 

Henry  IV.  renounced  the  protestant  religion,  and  was 
received  by  the  prelates  of  his  party  into  the  catholic 
church  ;  and  Elizabeth  assisted  that  monarch  to  break  the 
league  which  had  been  formed  against  him,  and  which, 
after  his  conversion  to  povpery,  gradually  dissolved. 

Though  the  queen  made  war  against  Philip  in  France 
and  the  Low  Countries,  yet  the  severest  blows  which  he 
received  from  England,  proceeded  from  naval  enterprises. 
James  Lancaster,  with  three  ships  and  a  pinnace,  took 
thirty-nine  Spanish  ships,  sacked  Fernambouc  on 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  brought  home  a  great  quan-  ,  *-qI 
tity  of  treasure.     Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  less  suc- 
cessful in  an  expedition  to  Guiana,  a  country  which  he  un- 
dertook to  explore  at  his  own  expense.      Sir  Francis 
Drake  engaged  in  an  enterprise  against  Panama ;  and  the 
Spaniards  obliged  the  English  to  return  without  effecting 


256  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

any  thing ;  and  Drake,  from  the  vexation  of  this  disap- 
pointment, was  seized  with  a  distemper,  of  which  he  died. 

This  unsuccessful  enterprise  in  America  determined  the 
English  to  attack  the  Spanish  dominions  in  Europe.  A 
powerful  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  vessels,  carry- 
ing upwards  of  seven  thousand  soldiers,  besides  Dutch 
auxiliaries,  set  sail  from  Plymouth  ;  and  after  a  fruitless 
attempt  to  land  at  St.  Sebastian,  on  the  western  side  of 
Cadiz,  resolved  to  attack  the  ships  and  galleys  in  the  bay. 
This  attempt  was  deemed  rash ;  but  the  earl  of  Essex 
strenuously  recommended  the  enterprise.  Effingham,  the 
commander  in  chief,  appointed  sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and 
lord  Thomas  Howard,  to  lead  the  van  ;  but  Essex,  contra- 
ry to  the  injunctions  of  the  admiral,  pressed  forward  into 
the  thickest  of  the  fight ;  and  landing  his  men  at  the  fort  of 
Puntal,  he  immediately  marched  to  Cadiz,  which  the  im- 
petuous valour  of  the  English  soon  carried,  sword  in  hand. 
The  generosity  of  Essex,  not  inferior  to  his  valour,  induced 
him  to  stop  the  slaughter.  The  English  obtained  immense 
plunder ;  but  they  missed  a  much  greater,  by  the  Spanish 
admiral  setting  fire  to  the  ships,  in  order  to  prevent  their 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  was  computed 
that  the  loss  which  the  Spaniards  sustained  by  this  enter- 
prise amounted  to  twenty  millions  of  ducats. 

The  king  of  France  concluded  a  peace  with  Spain  ; 
and  the  queen  knew  that  she  could  finish  the  war  on 
equitable  terms  with  Philip.  Burleigh  advised  her  to  em- 
brace pacific  measures ;  but  Essex,  whose  passion  for  ^lo- 
ry rendered  him  desirous  that  the  war  should  continue, 
urged  that  her  majesty  had  no  reason  to  fear  the  issue  of 
the  contest,  and  that  it  would  be  dishonourable  in  her  tc 
desert  the  Hollanders,  till  their  affairs  were  placed  in 
greater  security.  The  advice  of  Essex  was  more  agree- 
able to  Elizabeth  ;  and  the  favourite  seemed  d*iily  to  ac- 
quire an  ascendant  over  the  minister.  Had  he,  indeed, 
been  endued  with  caution  and  temper,  he  might  soon 
have  engrossed  the  entire  confidence  of  his  mistress  ;  but 
his  lofty  spirit  could  ill  submit  to  implicit  deference ;  and 
in  a  dispute  with  the  queen,  he  was  so  heated  by  the  argu- 
ment, and  so  entirely  forgetful  of  the  rules  both  of  civility 
and  duty,  that  he  turned  his  back  upon  her  in  a  contemp- 
tuous manner.  Elizabeth,  naturally  prone  to  anger,  in- 
stantly gave  him  a  box  on  the  ear,  adding  a  passionate  ex- 


ELIZABETH*  257 

pression  suitable  to  his  impertinence.  Instead  of  recol- 
lecting himself,  and  making  the  submission  due  to  her  sex 
and  station,  Essex  clapped  his  hand  on  his  sword,  swore 
that  he  would  not  bear  such  usage,  were  it  from  Henry 
the  Eighth  himself,  and  immediately  withdrew  from  court. 

The  queen's  partiality,  however,  soon  reinstated  him  in 
his  former  favour ;  and  the  death  of  Burleigh,  equally  re- 
gretted by  his  sovereign  and  the  people,  seemed  to  ensure 
him  the  confidence  of  Elizabeth. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  this  wise  and  faithful  minister, 
Philip  the  •  Second  expired  at  Madrid.  This  haughty 
prince,  desirous  of  an  accommodation  with  his  revolted 
subjects  in  the  Netherlands,  had  transferred  to  his  daugh- 
ter, married  to  the  archduke  Albert,  the  title  to  the  Low 
Countries ;  but  the  States  considered  this  deed  only  as 
the  change  of  a  name ;  and  the  secret  opposition  of  France, 
as  well  as  the  avowed  efforts  of  England,  continued  to 
operate  against  the  progress  of  Albert,  as  they  had  done 
against  that  of  Philip. 

%  The  authority  of  the  English  in  the  affairs  of  Ireland  had 
hitherto  been  little  more  than  nominal.  Instead  of  invi- 
ting the  Irish  to  adopt  the  more  civilized  customs  of  their 
conquerors,  they  even  refused  to  communicate  to  them 
the  privilege  of  their  laws,  and  every  where  marked  them 
out  as  aliens  and  enemies  ;  and  the  treatment  which  they 
experienced  rendered  them  such,  and  made  them  daily 
became  more  untractable  and  more  dangerous.  Insurrec- 
tions and  rebellions  had  been  frequent  in  Ireland ;  and 
Elizabeth  tried  several  expedients  for  reducing  that  coun- 
try to  greater  order  and  submission ;  but  these  expedients 
were  unsuccessful,  and  Ireland  became  formidable  to  the 
English. 

Hugh  O'Neale,  who  had  been  raised  by  the  queen  to  the 
dignity  of  earl  of   TJyrone,  embraced    the   resolution  of 
raising  an  open  rebellion,  and  entered  into  a  correspon- 
dence with  Spain,  whence  he  procured  a  supply  of  arms 
and  ammunition.     A  victory  obtained  over  sir  Henry  Bag- 
nal,  who  had  advanced  to  relieve  a  fort  besieged  by  the 
rebels,  raised  the  reputation  of  Tyrone,  who  assumed  the 
character  of  the  deliverer  of  his  country.      The 
English  council  were  now  sensible  that  the  rebel-  t'J^ 
lion  of  Ireland  should  be  opposed  by  vigorous  mea- 
fiures ;  and  the  queen  appointed  Essex  governor  of  tha 


258  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

country,  by  the  title  of  lord-lieutenant,  and  gave  him  the 
command  of  twenty  thousand  foot,  and  two  thousand  horse. 

On  his  landing  at  Dublin,  Essex  was  guilty  of  a  capital 
error,  which  was  the  ruin  of  his  enterprise.  Instead  of 
leading  his  forces  immediately  into  Ulster  against  Tyrone, 
the  chief  enemy,  he  wasted  the  season  of  action  in  redu- 
cing Munster ;  and  when  he  assembled  his  troops  for  an 
expedition  into  Ulster,  the  army  was  so  averse  to  this 
enterprise,  and  so  terrified  with  the  reputation  of  the  Irish 
rebel,  that  many  of  them  counterfeited  sickness,  and  many 
of  them  deserted.  Convinced  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  effect  any  thing  against  an  enemy  who,  though 
superior  in  number,  was  determined  to  avoid  a  decisive 
action,  Essex  hearkened  to  a  message  sent  him  by  Tyrone 
for  a  conference.  The  generals  met  without  any  of  their 
attendants  ;  a  river  ran  between  them,  into  which  Tyrone 
entered  to  the  depth  of  his  saddle  ;  but  Essex  stood  on  the 
opposite  bank.  A  cessation  of  arms  was  concluded  till 
the  next  spring,  renewable  from  six  weeks  to  six  weeks  ; 
but  which  might  be  broken'  by  either  party  on  giving  a 
fortnight's  notice.  Essex  also  received  from  Tyrone  pro- 
posals of  peace,  in  which  that  rebel  had  inserted  many 
unreasonable  conditions ;  and,  it  was  afterwards  suspected, 
that  he  had  commenced  a  very  unjustifiable  correspon- 
dence with  the  enemy. 

Elizabeth  was  highly  provoked  at  the  unexpected  issue 
of  this  great  and  expensive  enterprise ;  and  Essex,  in- 
formed of  the  queen's  anger,  set  out  for  England,  and  ar- 
rived at  court  before  any  one  was  apprised  of  his  inten- 
tions. Though  covered  with  dirt  and  sweat,  he  hastened 
to  the  presence-chamber,  and  thence  to  the  privy-cham- 
ber ;  nor  stopped  till  he  was  in  the  queen's  bed  chamber, 
who  had  just  risen.  After  some  private  conversation  with 
her,  he  retired  with  great  satisfaction ;  but,  though  the 
queen  had  thus  been  taken  by  surprise,  she  ordered  him  to 
be  confined  to  his  chamber*  and  to  be  twice  examined  by 
the  council. 

Essex  professed  an  entire  submission  to  the  queen's  will, 
and  declared  his  intention  of  retiring  into  the  country,  re- 
mote from  the  court  and  business  :  but,  though  he  affect- 
ed to  be  cured  of  his  ambition,  the  vexation  of  this  disap- 
pointment, and  of  the  triumph  gained  by  his  enemies, 
threw  him  into  a  distemper  which  seemed  to  endanger  his 


ELIZABETH.  259 


life.  The  queen,  alarmed  with  his  situation,  ordered  her 
physicians  to  attend  him,  and  also  to  deliver  him  a  message, 
which  was  probably  more  efficacious  in  promoting  his  re- 
covery, than  any  medicines  that  could  be  prescribed.  Af- 
ter some  interval,  Elizabeth  allowed  her  favourite  to  retire 
to  his  own  house,  where,  in  the  company  of  his  countess, 
he  passed  his  time  in  the  pursuits  of  elegant  literature. 

Essex  possessed  a  monopoly  of  sweet  wines  ;  and  as  his 
patent  was  nearly  expiring,  he  patiently  expected  that  the 
queen  would  renew  it ;  but  Elizabeth,  whose  temper  was 
somewhat  haughty  and  severe,  denied  his  request.  Essex, 
whose  patience  was  exhausted,  burst  at  once  all  restraints 
of  prudence ;  and  observed,  that  "  the  queen  was  now 
grown  an  old  woman,  and  became  as  crooked  in  her  mind 
as  her  body."  Some  court  ladies  carried  this  story  to  the 
queen,  who  was  highly  incensed  against  him ;  but  his 
secret  applications  to  the  king  of  Scots,  her  heir  and  suc- 
cessor, were  still  more  provoking  to  Elizabeth  than  the 
sarcasm  of  her  age  and  deformity.  James,  however,  dis- 
approved of  any  violent  method  of  extorting  from  the 
queen  an  immediate  declaration  of  his  right  of  succession ; 
and  Essex,  disappointed  in  his  project,  formed  a  select 
council  of  malcontents  at  Drury-house,  where  he  delibe- 
rated with  them  concerning  the  method  of  taking  arms, 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  removing  his  enemies  and  set- 
tling a  new  plan  of  government. 

Receiving  a  summons  to  attend  the  council  at  the  trea- 
surer's house,  Essex  concluded  that  the  conspiracy  was 
discovered,  or  at  least  suspected.  He,  therefore,  rashly 
sallied  forth  with  about  two  hundred  attendants,  armed 
only  with  walking  swords ;  and  in  his  way  to  the  city,  he 
cried  aloud,  "  for  the  queen  !  for  the  queen  !  a  plot  is  laid 
for  my  life  !"  The  citizens  flocked  about  him  in  amaze- 
ment ;  but  though  he  told  them  that  England  was  sold  to 
the  Infanta,  and  exhorted  them  to  arm  instantly,  no  one 
showed  a  disposition  to  join  him.  Essex,  observing  the 
coldness  of  the  citizens,  and  hearing  that  he  was  proclaim- 
ed a  traitor  by  the  earl  of  Cumberland  and  lord  Burleigh, 
began  to  uespair  of  success,  and  forced  his  way  to  his  own 
j  house ;  where  he  appeared  determined  to  defend  himself 
to  the  last  extremity ;  but  after  some  parley,  he  surren- 
dered at  discretion. 

He  and  his  friend,  the  earl  of  Southampton,  were  ar- 


260      x  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

raigned  before  a  jury  of  twenty-five  peers.  The  guilt  of 
the  prisoners  was  too  apparent  to  admit  of  any  doubt. 
When  sentence  was  pronounced,  Essex  spoke  like  a  man 
who  expected  nothing  but  death ;  but  Southampton's  be- 
haviour was  more  mild  and  inottensive,  and  he  excited 
the  compassion  of  all  the  peers. 

After  Essex  had  passed  some  days  in  the  solitude  and 
reflection  of  a  prison,  his  proud  heart  was  at  last  subdued,  < 
not  by  the  fear  of  death,  but  by  the  sentiments  of  religion ; 
and  he  gave  in  to  the  council  an  account  of  all  his  crimi- 
nal designs,  as  well  as  of  his  correspondence  with  the  king 
of  Scots.  The  present  situation  of  Essex  excited  all  the 
tender  affections  of  Elizabeth;  she  signed  the  warrant  for 
his  execution  ;  she  countermanded  it ;  she  resolved  on  his 
death ;  she  felt  a  new  return  of  tenderness ;  but  as  he 
made  no  application  to  her  for  mercy,  she  finally  gave  her 
consent  to  his  execution.  Essex  was  ontv  thirty-four 
years  of  age,  when  his  rashness,  imprudence,  and  violence, 
brought  him  to  this  untimely  end.  Some  of  his  associates 
were  tried,  condemned,  and  executed ;  but  Southampton 
was  saved  with  great  difficulty,  thougli  he  was  detained  in 
prison  during  the  remainder  of  this  reign. 

In  Ireland,  Mountjoy,  who  succeeded  Essex,  had  ef- 
fected the  defeat  of  Tyrone,  and  the  expulsion  of  the 
Spaniards.  Many  of  the  chieftains,  after  concealing  them- 
selves during  some  time  in  woods  and  morasses,  submit- 
ted to  the  mercy  of  the  deputy.  Tyrone  himself,  after  an 
unsuccessful  application  to  be  received  on  terms, 
IfifV*  surrendered  unconditionally  to  Mountjoy,  who  in- 
tended to  bring  him  a  captive  to  England.  But 
Elizabeth  was  now  incapable  of  receiving  any  satisfaction 
from  this  fortunate  event.  Some  incidents  had  happened 
which  revived  her  tenderness  for  Essex,  and  filled  her  with 
the  greatest  sorrow.  After  his  return  from  the  fortunate 
expedition  against  Cadiz,  she  had  given  him  a  ring  as  a 
pledge  of  her  affection  ;  and  assuring  him  that  into  what- 
ever disgrace  he  might  fall,  if  he  sent  her  that  ring,  she 
would  afford  him  a  patient  hearing,  and  lend  a  favourable 
ear  to  his  apology.  Essex,  notwithstanding  alii  his  mis- 
fortunes, had  reserved  this  precious  gift  to  the  last  extre 
mity ;  but  after  his  trial  and  condemnation,  be  resolved  to 
try  the  experiment,  and  committed  the  ring  to  the  countess 
of  Nottingham,  whom  he  desired  to  deliver  it  to  the  queen. 


ELIZABETH.  261 

The  countess  was  prevailed  on  by  her  husband,  the  mortal 
enemy  of  Essex,  not  to  execute  the  commission ;  and  Eli- 
zabeth, ascribing  the  neglect  to  his  invincible  obstinacy,  at 
last  signed  the  warrant  for  his  execution.  The  countess 
falling  into  a  dangerous  sickness,  was  seized  with  remorse 
for  her  conduct;  and  having  obtained  a  visit  from  the 
queen,  she  craved  her  pardon,  and  revealed  to  her  the  fa- 
tal secret.  The  queen  burst  into  a  furious  passion ;  and 
shaking  the  dying  countess  in  her  bed,  cried  out,  "  God 
may  pardon  you,  but  I  never  can." 

From  that  moment,  Elizabeth  resigned  herself  to  the 
deepest  and  most  incurable  melancholy ;  she  even  refused 
food  and  medicine  ;  and  throwing  herself  on  the  floor,  she 
remained  there  ten  days  and  as  many  nights,  declaring 
life  an  insufferable  burthen  to  her,  and  uttering  chiefly 
groans  and  sighs.  Her  anxious  mind  had  so  long  preyed 
on  her  frail  body,  that  her  end  was  visibly  approaching ; 
and  the  council  being  assembled,  commissioned  the  lord- 
kseper,  admiral,  and  secretary,  to  know  her  majesty's 
pleasure  with  regard  to  her  successor.  She  answered 
with  a  faint  voice,  that,  "  she  had  held  a  regal  sceptre, 
and  desired  no  other  than  a  royal  successor."  Cecil  re- 
questin#  her  to  explain  herself  more  particularly,  she  sub- 
joined, that  "  she  would  have  a  king  to  succeed  her,  and 
who  should  that  be,  but  her  nearest  kinsman,  the  king  of 
Scots  1"  Soon  after,  her  voice  failed,  and  her  senses 
were  lost ;  and  falling  into  a  lethargic  slumber,  she  gently 
expired,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  her  age,  and  the  forty- 
fifth  of  her  reign. 

So  dark  was  the  cloud  which  overspread  the  evening  of 
that  day,  whose  meridian  splendour  dazzled  the  eyes  of 
Europe.  The  vigour,  firmness,  penetration,  and  address 
of  Elizabeth,  have  not  been  surpassed  by  any  person  that 
ever  filled  a  throne;  but  a  conduct  less  imperious,  more 
sincere,  «nd  more  indulgent  to  her  people,  would  have 
been  requisite  to  form  a  complete  character.  Her  heroism 
was  exempt  from  rashness,  her  frugality  from  avarice,  and 
her  activity  from  the  turbulence  of  ambition  ;  but  the  rival- 
ship  of  beauty,  the  desire  of  admiration,  the  jealousy  of 
love,  and  the  sallies  of  anger,  were  infirmities  from  which 
she  guarded  not  herself  with  equal  care  or  equal  success. 
When  we  contemplate  her  as  a  woman,  we  are  struck  with 
the  highest  admiration  of  her  great  qualities  and  extensive 


262  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

capacity ;  but  we  perceive  a  want  of  that  softness  of  dis- 
position, that  lenity  of  temper,  and  those  amiable  weak- 
nesses by  which  her  sex  is  distinguished  and  adorned. 
Few  sovereigns  of  England  succeeded  to'  the  throne  in 
more  difficult  circumstances ;  and  none  ever  conducted 
the  government  with  such  uniform  success.  Her  wise 
ministers  and  brave  warriors  share  the  praise  of  her  suc- 
cess ;  but,  instead  of  lessening,  they  increased  the  ap- 
plause which  she  justly  deserves.  They  owed  their  ad- 
vancement to  her  judgment  and  discrimination. 

The  maxims  of  her  government  were  highly  arbitrary ; 
but  these  were  transmitted  to  her  by  her  predecessors ; 
and  she  believed  that  her  subjects  were  entitled  to  no 
more  liberty  than  their  ancestors  had  enjoyed.  A  well 
regulated  constitutional  balance  was  not  yet  established ; 
and  it  was  not  without  many  severe  struggles,  and  some 
dreadful  convulsions,  that  the  people  were  allowed  the 
blessings  of  liberty. 


CHAP.  XIII. 

Reign  of  James  I. 
The  crown  of  England  passed  from  the  family  of  Tudor 
to  that  of  Stuart  with  the  utmost  tranquility.     In  James's 
journey  from  Edinburgh  to  London,  all  ranks  flock- 
lfi(V*  e(^  arounc^  him,  a^ure(i  Dy  the  interest  of  curiosity ; 
and  he  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  flow  of  affec- 
tion which  appeared  in  his  new  subjects,  that  in  six  weeks 
after  his  entrance  into  the  kingdom,  he  conferred  the  ho- 
nour of  knighthood  on  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  persons,  besides  raising-  several  from  inferior 
to  higher  dignities  ;  and  among  the  rest,  the  Scottish  cour- 
tiers were  thought  to  be  especially  favoured. 

It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  James  left  almost 
all  the  chief  offices  in  the  hands  of  Elizabeth's  ministers, 
and  intrusted  the  conduct  of  political  concerns  to  his  Eng- 
lish subjects.  Among  these,  Cecil  was  successively  created 
lord  Effingdon,  viscount  Cranbourne,  and  earl  of  Salisbury, 
and  regarded  as  prime  minister  and  chief  counsellor.  A 
secret  correspondence  into  which  he  had  entered  with 
James,  during  the  latter  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  laid 
the  foundation  of  Cecil's  credit ;  and  while  all  his  former 
associates,  sir  Walter  Raleigh,  lord  Gray,  and  lord  Cob- 


JAMES  r. 


263' 


ham,  were  discountenanced  on  account  of  their  animosity 
against  Essex,  this  minister  was  continued  in  his  employ- 
ment, and  treated  with  the  greatest  confidence  and  regard. 

Amidst  the  great  tranquility,  both  foreign  and  domestic, 
which  the  nation  enjoyed,  nothing  could  be  more  unex- 
pected than  the  discovery  of  a  conspiracy  to  subvert  the 
government,  and  to  place  on  the  throne  Arabella  Stuart, 
a  near  relation  of  the  king's,  and  equally  descended  from 
Henry  the  Seventh.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  one  of  the  prin- 
cipals in  the  plot,  cpntrary  to  all  laws  and  equity,  was 
found  guilty  by  a  jury ;  but  he  was  reprieved,  not  pardon- 
ed :  and  he  remained  in  confinement  for  many  years. 

The  religious  disputes  between  the  church  and  the  puri- 
tans, which  had  been  continually  increasing  ever  since  the 
reformation,  induced  the  king  to   call  a  conference  at 
Hampton-court,  on  pretence  of  finding  expedients 
which  might  reconcile  both  parties.     The  disposi-  i^ni 
tion  of  James,  however,  had  received  a  strong  bias 
against  the  puritanical  clergy  in  Scotland  ;  and  he  showed 
the  greatest  propensity  to  the  established  church,  and  fre- 
quently inculcated  as  a  maxim,  no  bishop,  no  king. 

The  severe,  though  popular  government  of  Elizabeth, 
had  confined  the  rising  spirit  of  liberty  within  very  narrow 
bounds ;  but  when  a  new  and  foreign  family  succeeded 
to  the  throne,  and  a  prince  less  dreaded  and  less  beloved, 
principles  of  a  more  independent  nature  appeared  in  the 
nation.  The  king,  however,  told  the  parliament,  "  that 
all  their  privileges  were  derived  from  his  grant,  and  hoped 
they  would  not  turn  them  against  him."  James,  of  his 
own  accord,  annulled  all  the  numerous  patents  for  monopo- 
lies ;  but  the  exclusive  companies  still  remained,  and  almost 
all  the  commerce  of  England  centered  in  London,  the  trade 
of  which  was  confined  to  about  two  hundred  citizens. 

One  of  the  most  memorable  events  recorded  in  history  is 
the  "  Gunpowder  Plot."  The  Roman  catholics  had  ex- 
pected great  favour  from  James  ;  and  they  were  surprised 
and  enraged  to  find  that,  on  all  occasions,  he  expressed 
his  intention  of  strictly  executing  the  laws  against  them. 
Catesby,  a  gentleman  of  an  ancient  family,  first  thought 
of  a  most  extraordinary  method  of  revenge,  which  was  to 
destroy,  at  one  blow,  the  king,  the  royal  family,  the  lords, 
and  the  commons,  by  running  a  mine  below  the  hall  in 
v  hich  the  parliament  assembled,  and  choosing  the  very 


264  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

moment  in  which  the  king  harangued  both  houses.  This 
diabolical  scheme  he  communicated  to  Percy,  a  descendant 
of  the  illustrious  house  of  Northumberland,  who  was 
charmed  with  the  project ;  and  they  agreed  cautiously  to 
enlist  some  other  conspirators,  and  sent  over  to  Flanders  in 
quest  of  one  Guy  Fawkes,  an  officer  in  the  Spanish  service, 
with  whose  zeal  and  courage  they  were  well  acquainted. 

The  conspirators  bound  themselves  by  oath  of  secrecy, 

which  they  confirmed  by  receiving  the  sacrament  together; 

and  they  hired  a  house  in  the  name  of  Percy,  adjoining 

that  in  which  the  parliament  assembled.     Finding  that  a 

vault  under  the  house  of  lords  was  to  let,  they  seized  the 

opportunity  of  renting  it,  and  deposited  in  it  thirty- 

IfUK  s*x  Darre^s  °*  Powder,  which  they  covered  with 

faggots  and  billet-wood.     The  doors  of  the  cellar 

were  then  boldly  thrown  open,  as  if  it  contained  nothing 

dangerous,  and,  confident  of  success,  the  conspirators  now 

planned  the  remaining  part  of  their  project. 

The  king,  the  queen,  and  prince  Henry,  were  all  ex- 
pected to  be  present  at  the  opening  of  the  parliament ;  but 
as  the  duke,  by  reason  of  his  tender  age,  would  necessarily 
be  absent,  it  was  resolved  to  assassinate  him.  The  prin- 
cess Elizabeth,  a  child  likewise,  was  kept  at  lord  Harring- 
ton's house  in  Warwickshire ;  and  it  was  determined  to 
seize  that  princess  and  proclaim  her  queen. 

Though  more  than  twenty  persons  were  engaged  in  this 
conspiracy,  the  dreadful  secret  had  been  sacredly  kept 
nearly  a  year  and  a  half.  No  remorse,  no  pity,  no  fear  of 
punishment,  or  hope  of  reward,  had  induced  any  conspi- 
rator either  to  abandon  the  enterprise,  or  discover  the  plot. ' 
A  few  days,  however,  before  the  meeting  of  parliament, 
lord  Monteagle,  a  catholic,  and  son  to  lord  Morley,  receiv- 
ed the  following  letter,  from  an  unknown  hand.* 

"  My  lord,  out  of  the  love  I  bear  to  some  of  your  friends, 
I  have  a  care  of  your  preservation.  Therefore  I  would 
advise  you,  as  you  tender  your  life,  to  devise  some  excuse 
to  shift  off  your  attendance  in  this  parliament.     For  God 

*  There  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  this  letter  was  sent  by 
Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  lord  Morley,  sister  to  lord  Monteagle,  and 
wife  of  Thomas  Abington,  Esq.  of  Herislip,  in  the  county  of  Wor- 
cester. Affection  for  her  brother  prompted  the  warning,  while  love 
for  her  husband,  who  was  privy  to  the  conspiracy,  suggested  such 
means  as  were  best  calculated  to  prevent  his  detection. 


Discovery  of  Guy  Fawkes. 


Death  oj  Richard  HI. 


JAMES  I.  265 

and  man  have  concurred  to  punish  the  wickedness  of  this 
time.  And  think  not  slightly  of  this  advertisement ;  but 
retire  yourself  into  your  country,  where  you  may  expect 
the  event  in  safety.  For  though  there  be  no  appearance 
of  any  stir,  yet,  I  say,  they  will  receive  a  terrible  blow  this 
parliament,  and  yet  they  shall  not  see  who  hurts  them. 
This  counsel  is  not  to  be  contemned,  because  it  may  do 
you  good,  and  can  do  you  no  harm :  for  the  danger  is  past, 
as  soon  as  you  have  burned  the  letter.  And  I  hope  God 
will  give  you  the  grace  to  make  good  use  of  it,  unto  whose 
holy  protection  I  commend  you." 

Monteagle,  as  well  as  Salisbury,  to  whom  he  com- 
municated it,  considered  the  letter  as  a  foolish  attempt  to 
frighten ;  but,  from  the  serious  and  earnest  manner  in 
which  it  was  written,  James  conjectured  that  it  implied 
something  dangerous  and  important ;  and  the  enigmati- 
cal but  strong  expressions  used  in  the  epistle,  seemed  to 
denote  some  contrivance  by  gunpowder.*  In  consequence, 
it  was  determined  to  inspect  all  the  vaults  under  the  house 
of  parliament ;  but  the  search  was  purposely  delayed  till 
the  day  before  the  meeting  of  parliament.  This  care  be- 
longed to  the  earl  of  Suffolk,  lord  chamberlain,  who  re- 
marked the  great  piles  of  wood  and  faggots  in  the  vault 
under  the  upper  house ;  and  he  observed  Fawkes  in  a 
corner,  who  passed  himself  as  Percy's  servant.  About  mid- 
night, sir  Thomas  Knevet,  with  proper  attendants,  entered 
the  vault ;  and  after  seizing  Fawkes,  he  removed  the  faggots, 
and  discoverved  the  powder.  The  matches  and  other  pre- 
parations for  setting  the  whole  on  fire,  were  found  in  the 
pockets  of  Fawkes,  who,  seeing  it  useless  to  dissemble, 
boldly  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  lost  the  opportu- 
nity of  firing  the  powder  at  once,  and  of  sweetening  his 
own  death  by  that  of  his  enemies.  Before  the  council  he 
displayed  the  same  intrepidity,  and  refused  to  discover  his 
accomplices ;  but  being  confined  in  the  tower,  and  left  to 
reflect  on  his  guilt  and  danger,  his  courage  failed  in  a  few 
days,  and  he  made  a  full  discovery  of  the  conspirators,  who 
never  exceeded  the  number  of  eighty.  They  all  suffered 
death  by  one  way  or  other ;  and  horrible  as  the  crime  was, 
the  bigoted  catholics  regarded  some  of  them  as  martyrs. 


*  James  might  probably  be  led  to  this  conclusion  from  recollecting- 
the  catastrophe  of  his  father.    Mavor. 

23 


260  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

At  this  time,  James  seems  to  have  possessed  the  affec- 
tions of  his  English  subjects  and  of  the  parliament.  His 
learning,  which  was  not  despicable,  obtained  him  the  name 
of  the  second  Solomon.  All  his  efforts,  however,  for  a 
union  between  England  and  Scotland  proved  ineffectual, 
on  account  of  the  national  antipathy  by  which  the  English 
parliament  was  governed  ;  and  he  could  procure  only  an 
abolition  of  the  hostile  laws  which  had  been  formerly  enact- 
ed between  the  two  kingdoms. 

The  house  of  commons  began  now  to  feel  themselves  of 
such  importance,  that  on  the  motion  of  sir  Edwin  Sandys, 
they  entered,  for  the  first  time,  an  order  for  the  regular 
keeping  of  their  journals. 

In  the  following  session,  the  lord-treasurer,  Dorset,  laid 
open  the  king's  necessities,  but  the  commons  refused  to 
relieve  them;  and  James  received  the  mortification 
IfilO  °^ discovering  in  vain,  all  his  wants,  and  of  asking 
the  aid  of  his  subjects,  who  seemed  determined  to 
diminish  the  power  of  the  crown.  Inheriting  all  the  high 
notions  of  regal  government  that  had  marked  the  reigns  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth,  James  was  continually  employed  in 
endeavouring  to  preserve  the  prerogatives  whieh  former 
sovereigns  had  enjoyed,  but  which  a  more  enlightened  age 
and  a  less  obsequious  parliament  deemed  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  circumscribe.  In  his  first  parliament,  which  sat 
nearly  seven  years,  frequent  attacks  were  made  on  the  roy- 
al prerogative;  and  the  king  displayed  all  his  exalted  no- 
tions of  monarchy  anct  the  authority  of  princes  ;  but  the 
principles  which  these  popular  attempts  developed,  and 
which  opposition  served  only  to  increase,  at  last  overturn- 
ed the  throne,  and  plunged  the  nation  into  confusion. 

In  promoting  the  civilization  of  Ireland,  James  pro- 
ceeded on  a  regular  and  well  concerted  plan ;  and  he  found 
it  necessary  to  abolish  the  ancient  customs,  which  supplied 
the  place  of  laws.  By  *he  Brehen  custom,  every  crime, 
however  enormous,  was  punished  by  a  pecuniary  fine.  This 
rate  was  called  eric.  When  the  English  had  formed  the 
design  of  sending  a  sheriff  into  Fermanagh,  Maguire,achief 
of  that  district,  replied,  "Your  sheriff  shall  be  welcome 
to  me;  but  let  me  know  beforehand  his  eric,  or  the  price 
of  his  head,  that  if  my  people  cut  it  off,  I  may  levy  the 
money  on  the  county."  Small  offences  were  subject  to  no 
penalty ;  and  in  this  horrible  state  of  society,  the  efforts  of 


JAMES    I.  267 

James  to  produce  amelioration  were  highly  deserving  of 
praise.  In  the  room  of  savage  institutions,  he  substituted 
English  laws  ;  took  the  natives  under  his  protection,  and 
declared  them  free  citizens  ;  and  governed  the  kingdom  by 
a  regular  administration,  military  as  well  as  civil. 

This  year,  the  sudden  death  of  Henry,  prince  of  Wales, 
in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age,  diffused  a  general  grief 
throughout  the  nation.     Neither  his  high  birth  nor 
his  youth  had  seduced  him  into  any  irregularities ;  i^io 
business  and  ambition  were  his  sole  delight ;  and 
his  inclinations  as  well  as  exercises  were  martial.     The 
French  ambassador,  taking  leave  of  him,  and  asking  his 
commands  for  France,  found  him  employed  in  the  exercise 
of  the  pike :  "  Tell  your  king,"  said  he,  "  in  what  occupa- 
tion you  left  me  engaged."     He  had  conceived  great  affec- 
tion and  esteem  for  sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  was  prisoner 
in  the  tower.     "  Surely,"  observed  he,  "  no  king  but  my 
father  would  keep  such  a  bird  in  a  cage." 

The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth  with  Frederic, 
elector  palatine,  served  to  dissipate  the  grief  which  arose 
from  that  melancholy  event ;  but  this  marriage,  though 
happy  to  the  nation  in  its  remote  and  ultimate  conse- 
quences, was  unfortunate  both  to  the  king  and  his  son-in- 
law.  The  elector,  trusting  to  so  great  an  alliance,  engaged 
in  enterprises  beyond  his  strength ;  and  the  king  not  being 
able  to  support  him  in  his  pretensions,  lost  entirely,  to- 
wards the  end  of  his  life,  the  affection  and  esteem  of  his 
own  subjects.  • 

The  history  of  this  reign  is  more  properly  a  history  of 
the  court  than  of  the  nation.  About  the  end  of  the  year 
1609,  Robert  Carre,  a  youth  of  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
of  a  good  family  in  Scotland,  arrived  in  London,  and  was 
introduced  to  the  English  court.  The  charms  of  his  per- 
son and  the  elegance  of  his  manners  soon  won  the  affec- 
tions of  James,  who  successively  knighted  him,  created 
him  viscount  Rochester,  and  gave  him  the  garter.  In  sir 
Thomas  Overbury,  this  minion  met  with  a  judicious  and 
sincere  counsellor ;  and  so  long  as  he  was  governed  by  his 
friendly  counsels,  he  enjoyed  the  highest  favour  of  his  so- 
vereign, without  being  hated  by  the  people.  Intoxicated, 
however,  by  his  good  fortune,  Rochester  found  means  to 
seduce  the  affections  of  the  young  countess  of  Essex, 
daughter  of  the  earl  of  Suffolk,  though  she  rejected  the 


268  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

embraces  of  her  husband ;  and  in  spite  of  the  remonstran- 
ces of  Overbury,  a  divorce  was  procured,  and  a  marriage 
solemnized  between  the  two  adulterers.  On  this  occasion, 
the  king  so  far  forgot  the  dignity  of  his  character,  and  his 
friendship  to  the  family  of  Essex,  that,  lest  the  lady  should 
lose  any  rank  by  her  new  marriage,  he  created  his  minion 
earl  of  Somerset. 

The  countess,  however,  was  not  satisfied  till  she  could 
satiate  her  revenge  on  Overbury,  who  had  been  committed 
to  the  tower,  at  the  instance  of  Somerset,  for  disobeying 
an  order  of  the  king.  She  engaged  her  husband,  as  well 
as  her  uncle,  the  earl  of  Northampton,  in  the  atrocious  de- 
sign of  destroying  him  secretly  by  poison.  Fruitless  at- 
tempts were  reiterated  by  weak  doses ;  but  at  last  they 
gave  him  one  so  sudden  and  violent,  that  the  symptoms 
were  apparent  to  every  one  who  approached  him ;  and 
though  a  strong  suspicion  prevailed  in  the  public,  the  full 
proof  of  the  crime  was  not  brought  to  light  for  some  years 
after. 

The  fatal  catastrophe  of  sir  Thomas  Overbury  increased 
or  begat  a  suspicion  that  the  prince  of  Wales  had  been 
carried  off  by  poison,  given  him  by  Somerset ;  and  the 
king  was  not  spared  amidst  the  just  imputations  thrown 
on  his  favourite. 

A  new  parliament  was  again  summoned,  after  every  ex- 
pedient had  been  tried  to  relieve  the  king's  necessities, 
even  to  the  sale  of  baronetages  and  peerages ;  but 
tfili.  that  assembly,  instead  of  entering  on  the  business 
of  supply,  as  urged  by  the  kingjbegan  with  dispu- 
ting his  majesty's  power  of  levying  new  customs  and  im- 
positions, by  the  mere  authority  of  his  prerogative.     The 
king,  with   great  indignation,  dissolved   the  parliament, 
without  obtaining  the  smallest  supply  to  his  necessities ; 
and  he  imprisoned  some  of  the  members,  who  had  been 
most  forward  in  their  opposition  to  his  measures ;  and 
though  he  valued  himself  highly  on  his  king-craft,  he  open- 
ly at  his  table  inculcated  those  monarchical  principles 
which  he  had  strongly  imbibed.     Among  other  company, 
there  sat  at  table  two  bishops,  Neile  and  Andrews.     The 
king  publicly  proposed  the  question,  whether  he  might  not 
take  his  subjects'  money  when  he  needed  it,  without  all 
this  formality  of  parliament  ?  The  obsequious .  Neile  re- 
plied, "  God  forbid  you  should  not ;  for  you  are  the  breath 


JAMES  I.  269 

of  our  nostrils."  Andrews  declined  answering ;  but  when 
the  king  urged  him,  he  pleasantly  observed,  "  I  think  your 
majesty  may  lawfully  take  my  brother  Neile's  money,  for 
he  offers." 

The  favourite  had  hitherto  escaped  the  inquiry  of  jus- 
tice ;  but  conscious  of  the  murder  of  his  friend,  he  became 
sullen  and  silent ;  and  the  king  began  to  estrange  himself 
from  a  man  who  no  longer  contributed  to  his  amusement. 
The  enemies  of  Somerset  seized  the  opportunity  of  throw- 
ing a  new  minion  in  the  king's  way,  in  the  person  of 
George  Villiers,  a  youth  of  one  and  twenty,  who  was  im- 
mediately raised  to  the  office  of  cup-bearer.  In  the  mean 
time,  Somerset's  guilt  in  the  murder  of  sir  Thomas  Over- 
bury  was  fully  discovered ;  and  James,  alarmed  and  asto- 
nished at  such  enormous  guilt  in  a  man  whom  he  had  so 
highly  honoured,  recommended  a  most  rigorous  scrutiny. 
All  the  accomplices  received  the  punishment  of  death ;  but 
the  king  bestowed  a  pardon  on  the  principals,  Somerset 
and  the  countess  ;  and  after  some  years  imprisonment,  he 
restored  them  to  their  liberty,  and  they  languished  out 
their  old  age  in  infamy  and  obscurity. 

The  fall  of  Somerset  opened  the  way  for  Villiers,  who, 
in  the  space  of  a  few  years,  by  rapid  advances,  was  at  last 
created  duke  of  Buckingham,  knight  of  the  garter,  master 
of  the  horse,  and  lord  high-admiral  of  England,  with  other 
honourable  appointments.  His  mother  obtained  the  title 
of  countess  of  Buckingham  ;  his  brother  was  created  vis- 
count Purbec ;  and  a  numerous  train  of  needy  relations 
were  all  invested  with  credit  and  authority. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  been  imprisoned  for  thirteen 
years  ;  and  men  had  leisure  to  reflect  on  the  hardship  and 
injustice  of  this  sentence.     They  pitied  his  active  and  en- 
terprising spirit,  which  languished  in  the  rigours  of  confine- 
ment ;  and  they  admired  his  extensive  genius,  no  less  than 
his  unbroken  magnanimity.     To  increase  these  favourable 
dispositions,  on  which  he  built  the  hopes  of  reco- 
vering his  liberty,  Raleigh  spread  the  report  of  a  ^  J.  JJj 
rich  gold  mine,  which  he  had  discovered  in  Guiana. 
The  king  gave  little  credit  to  the  tale,  but  released  him 
from  the  tower,  without  pardoning  him,  and  suffered  him 
to  try  the  adventure. 

Raleigh  had  declared  that  the  Spaniards  had  planted  np 
colonies  on  that  part  of  the  coast  where  this  mine  lay ;  but 
23* 


270  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.  v 

it  had  happened,  that,  in  a  space  of  twenty-three  years, 
which  had  elapsed  since  he  had  last  visited  that  region, 
they  had  formed  a  settlement  on  the  river  Oronooko,  and 
built  a  town  called  St.  Thomas.  To  this  place  Raleigh 
directly  bent  his  course,  and  sent  a  detachment  under  the 
command  of  his  son,  and  of  captain  Kemys,  an  officer  en- 
tirely devoted  to  him.  The  Spaniards,  who  had  expected 
this  invasion,  fired  on  the  English  at  their  landing,  were 
repulsed,  and  pursued  into  the  town.  Young  Raleigh  re- 
ceived a  shot,  of  which  he  immediately  expired;  but  the 
town  was  carried,  and  afterwards  reduced  to  ashes.  Ke- 
mys, who  owned  that  he  was  within  two  hours'  march  of 
the  mine,  returned  to  Raleigh  with  the  melancholy  news  of 
his  son's  death ;  and,  despairing  of  the  success  of  the  en- 
terprise, he  retired  to  his  cabin,  and  put  an  end  to  his  life. 

The  other  adventurers  now  concluded,  that  they  were 
deceived  by  Raleigh ;  and  thinking  it  safest  to  return  imme- 
diately to  England,  they  carried  him  with  them.  The 
privy  council  pronounced  that  Raleigh  had  abused  the 
king's  confidence;  and  the  court  of  Spain  raising  loud 
complaints  against  him,  the  king  made  use  of  that  power 
which  he  had  purposely  reserved  in  his  own  hands,  and 
signed  the  warrant  for  the  execution  upon  his  former  sen- 
tence. 

Raleigh,  finding  his  fate  inevitable,  collected  all  his  cou- 
rage and  resolution.  As  he  felt  the  edge  of  the  axe  with 
which  he  was  to  be  beheaded,  "  'Tis  a  sharp  remedy,"  he 
said,  "  but  a  sure  one  for  all  ills."  His  harangue  to  the 
people  was  calm  and  eloquent ;  and,  with  the  utmost  in- 
difference, he  laid  his  head  on  the  block,  and  received  the 
fatal  blow.  % 

The  execution  of  this  sentence,  which  was  at  first  hard, 
and  which  had  been  so  long  suspended,  gave  general  dis- 
satisfaction ;  and  it  was  rendered  still  more  invidious  and 
unpopular  by  the  intimate  connections  entered  into  with 
Spain.  Godemar,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  in  order  to 
withdraw  the  attention  of  James  from  Germany,  had  of- 
fered the  second  daughter  of  Spain  in  marriage  to  prince 
Charles,  with  an  immense  fortune.  The  bait  took;  and 
though  the  states  of  Bohemia,  inspired  with  the  love  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  had  taken  up  arms  against  the 
emperor  Ferdinand,  and  tendered  their  crown  to  Frederic, 
elector  palatine,  probably  on  account  of  his  connection 


JAMES    I.  271 

with  England,  James  refused  to  lend  any  assistance  to  his 
son-in-law,  and  Frederic,  being  defeated  in  the  great  and 
decisive  battle  of  Prague,  was  driven  from  the  palatinate, 
and  fled  with  his  family  into  Holland. 

High  were  now  the  murmurs  and  complaints  against  the 
inactive  disposition  of  the  king,  who  flattered  himself,  that 
after  he  had  formed  an  intimate  connection  with 
the  Spanish  monarch,  by  means  of  his  son's  mar-  i'aon 
riage,  the  restitution  of  the   palatinate  might  be 
procured,  from  motives  of  friendship  alone. 

At  this  time  the  great  seal  was  in  the  hands  of  Francis 
Bacon,  lord  Verulam,  a  man  universally  admired  for  the 
sublimity  of  his  genius  ;  but  his  want  of  economy,  and  his 
indulgence  to  servants,  involved  him  in  necessities ;  and  he 
received  bribes  which  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  censure. 
Being  impeached  by  the  commons,  the  peers  sentenced 
him  to  pay  a  fine  of  forty  thousand  pounds,  to  be  impri- 
soned in  the  tower  during  the  king's  pleasure,  and  to  be 
for  ever  incapable  of  holding  any  office,  place  or  employ- 
ment. Bacon,  however,  was  soon  released  from  prison, 
the  fine  was  remitted,  and,  in  consideration  of  his  great 
merit,  a  pension  of  eighteen  hundred  pounds  a  year  was 
conferred  upon  him ;  and  his  literary  productions  have 
made  his  guilt  or  weakness  be  forgotten  or  overlooked  by 
posterity. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  commons  entreated  his  majesty, 
that  he  would  immediately  undertake  the  defence  of  the 
palatinate ;  that  he  would  turn  his  arms  against  Spain ; 
and  that  he  would  enter  into  negotiations  for  a  marriage 
with  his  son  only  with  a  protestant  princess.  This  seeming 
an  invasion  of  his  prerogative,  highly  incensed  James,  who, 
in  a  letter  to  the  speaker,  sharply  rebuked  the  house  for  de- 
bating on  matters  far  above  their  capacity,  and  forbade 
them  to  meddle  with  any  subject  that  regarded  his  govern- 
ment. This  letter  inflamed  the  commons,  who,  after  ano- 
ther ineffectual  remonstrance,  framed  a  protestation,  in 
which  they  repeated  all  their  claims  for  freedom  of  speech, 
and  an  unbounded  authority  to  interpose  with  their  advice 
and  counsel.  They  asserted  that  the  liberties,  franchises, 
privileges,  and  jurisdictions  of  parliament,  are  the  ancient 
and  undoubted  birthright  of  the  subjects  of  England. 
This  protestation  the  king  himself  tore  from  the  journals ; 
and  after  committing  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the 


272  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

house  to  the  tower,  he  finally  dissolved  the  parliament. 
These  struggles,  between  prerogative  on  the  one  hand, 
and  privilege  on  the  other,  terminated  only  with  the  over- 
throw of  the  monarchy,  under  the  unfortunate  Charles 
the  First. 

In  vain  did  James,  by  reiterated  proclamations,  forbid  the 
discussing  of  state  affairs.  Such  proclamations,  as  might 
naturally  be  expected,  served  rather  to  inflame  the  curiosi^ 
ty  of  the  public.  The  etForts  of  Frederic  for  the 
lfi22  recoverv  °f  ms  dominions  were  vigorous,  but  inef- 
fectual ;  and  James  now  persuaded  his  son-in-law  to 
disarm,  and  to  trust  to  his  negotiations.  To  show,  however, 
the  estimation  in  which  James's  negotiations  were  held 
abroad,  in  a  farce  acted  at  Brussels,  a  courier  announced 
that  the  palatinate  would  soon  be  wrested  from  Austria,  as 
succours  from  all  quarters  were  hastening  to  the  relief  of 
the  despoiled  elector ;  the  king  of  Denmark,  he  said,  had 
agreed  to  contribute  to  his  assistance  one  hundred  thousand 
pickled  herrings  ;  the  Dutch,  one  hundred  thousand  butter 
boxes ;  and  the  king  of  England,  one  hundred  thousand 
ambassadors.  On  other  occasions,  James  was  depicted 
with  a  scabbard,  but  without  a  sword  ;  or  with  a  sword, 
which  no  one  could  draw,  though  several  were  pulling  at  it. 

In  order  to  remove  all  obstacles  to  the  match  between 
the  infanta  of  Spain  and  prince  Charles,  James  despatch- 
ed the  earl  of  Bristol  to  Philip  IV. ;  all  matters  were  ad- 
justed, and  the  dispensation  from  Rome  only  was  wanting, 
when  this  flattering  prospect  was  blasted  by  the  temerity 
of  Buckingham. 

A  coolness  between  this  favourite  and  the  prince  of 
Wales  had  taken  place  ;  and  Buckingham,  desirous  of  an 
opportunity  which  might  connect  him  with  Charles,  and 
also  envious  of  the  great  credit  acquired  by  Bristol,  pro- 
posed a  journey  of  courtship  to  Madrid.  The  young  and 
ardent  mind  of  the  prince  eagerly  embraced  the  scheme ; 
and  the  king  was  prevailed  on  to  grant  his  consent  to  the 
undertaking,  though  not  without  much  reluctance  and  ap- 
prehension of  the  result. 

The  prince  and  Buckingham,  with  their  attendants, 
passed  disguised  and  undiscovered  through  France ;  and 
they  even  ventured  into  a  court-ball  at  Paris,  where  Charles 
saw  the  princess  Henrietta,  whom  he  afterwards  espoused, 
and  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  bloom  of  youth  and  beauty. 


JAMES  I.  273 

In  eleven  days  after  their  departure  from  London,  they 
arrived  at  Madrid,  and  surprised  every  one  by  a  step  so 
unusual  among  great  princes.  The  Spanish  monarch 
treated  Charles  with  the  utmost  respect,  and  the  most  flat- 
tering attentions ;  but  the  infanta  was  only  shown  to  her 
lover  in  public,  the  established  etiquette  not  allowing  any 
farther  intercourse  till  the  arrival  of  a  dispensation  from 
Rome.  The  king  of  England,  as  well  as  the  prince,  be- 
came impatient ;  and  the  latter  having  taken  his  leave, 
embarked  on  board  an  English  fleet,  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land. Charles  had  endeared  himself  to  the  whole  Spanish 
nation,  by  whom  he  was  beloved  end  esteemed ;  while 
Buckingham,  by  his  indecent  freedoms  and  his  dissolute 
pleasures,  had  rendered  himself  universally  despised  and 
hated.  Through  the  intrigues  of  Buckingham,  who 
dreaded  the  influence  of  the  Spaniards  in  England  after 
the  arrival  of  the  infanta,  the  match  was  broken  off;  and 
James  was  induced  to  abandon  a  project  which,  during 
many  years,  had  been  the  object  of  his  wishes,  and  which 
had  been  brought  near  to  a  happy  conclusion. 

The  king,  having  thus  involuntarily  broken  with  Spain, 
was  obliged  to  summon  a  parliament,  in  order  to  procure 
the  necessary  supplies;  and  in  that  assembly,  Buck- 
ingham threw  all  the  blame  on  the  court  of  Spain,  V™*! 
which  he  accused  of  artifice  and  insincerity.     The 
parliament  advised  the  king  to  break  off  both  treaties  with 
Spain,  as  well  that  which  regarded  the  marriage,  as  that 
for  the  restitution  of  the  palatinate.     The  supply,  how- 
ever, was  voted  with  parsimony ;  and  to  it  were  annexed 
conditions,  which  trenched  on  the  prerogative,  but  which 
at  last  produced  legitimate  liberty. 

After  the  rupture  with  Spain,  a  treaty  of  marriage  be- 
tween the  prince  of  Wales  and  Henrietta?  of  France  was 
speedily  concluded ;    but   military  enterprises   were    ex- 
tremely disagreeable  to  James,  whose  disposition 
incapacitated  him  for  war.     The  English  nation,  +  'rj?k 
however,  were  bent  on  the  recovery  of  the  palati- 
nate  ;  and  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  foot  and  two  hun- 
dred horse,  under  the  command  of  couit  Mansfeldt,  were 
embarked  at  Dover;  but  so  ill  had  the  expedition  been 
concerted,  that  half  of  tjje  troops  died  on  board  by  a  pesti- 
lential disorder,  before  they  wero  permitted  to  land,  and 


274  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

the  other  half,  weakened  by  sickness,  appeared  insufficient 
to  march  into  the.  palatinate. 

James,  who  had  zealously  cultivated  the  arts  of  peace, 
did  not  long  survive  the  commencement  bf  hostilities.  He 
was  seized  with  a  tertian  ague,  and  finding  himself  gradu- 
ally becoming  weaker,  he  sent  for  the  prince,  whom  he  ex-1 
horted  to  bear  a  tender  regard  for  his  wife,  but  to  preserve 
a  constancy  in  religion,  to  protect  the  church  of  England, 
and  to  extend  his  care  to  the  unhappy  family  of  the  pala- 
tine. With  decency  and  fortitude  he  prepared  himself  for 
his  end ;  and  he  died  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  after 
a  reign  over  England  of  twenty-two  years  and  some  days. 

In  the  annals  of  nations,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
reign  less  illustrious,  yet  more  unspotted  and  unblemished, 
than  that  of  James.  No  prince  so  little  enterprising  and 
so  inoffensive,  was  ever  so  much  exposed  to  the  opposite 
extremes  of  calumny  and  praise ;  and  his  character  has 
been  much  disputed  even  in  the  present  time.  It  must  be 
owned,  however,  that  he  possessed  many  virtues,  though 
scarcely  one  of  them  was  free  from  the  contagion  of  the 
neighbouring  vice.  His  generosity  bordered  on  profusion, 
his  learning  on  pedantry,  his  pacific  disposition  on  pusi- 
lanimity,  and  his  wisdom  on  cunning.  While  he  imagined 
that  he  was  only  maintaining  his  own  authority,  he  may 
perhaps  be  suspected  of  having  somewhat  encroached  on 
the  liberties  of  the  people.  His  intentions  were  just,  but 
more  adapted  to  the  conduct  of  private  life,  than  to  the 
government  of  kingdoms. 

He  was  married  to  Anne  of  Denmark,  who  died  in  1619, 
eminent  neither  for  her  vices  nor  her  virtues  ;  and  he  left 
only  one  son,  Charles,  then  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his 
age ;  and  one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  to  the  elector 
palatine. 

At  this  period,  high  pride  of  family  prevailed  ;  and  great 
riches  acquired  by  commerce,  were  rare.  Civil  honours, 
which  now  hold  the  first  place,  were  then  subordinate  to 
the  military  ;  and  the  young  gentry  and  nobility  were  fond 
of  distinguishing  themselves  by  arms.  The  country  life, 
which  still  prevails  in  England  to  a  certain  degree,  was 
just  beginning  to  give  way  to  a  fondness  for  the  seduce- 
ments  of  the  city ;  and  James  discouraged  as  much  as  pos- 
sible this  alteration  of  manners.  "  He  was  wont  to  be 
very  earnest,"  lord  Bacon  tells  us,  "  with  the  country  gen- 


CHARLES   I.  275 

tlemen  to  go  from  London  to  their  country  seats ;  and 
sometimes  he  would  say  to  them,  Gentlemen,  at  London 
you  are  like  ships  in  a  sea,  which  show  like  nothing ;  but 
in  your  country  villages,  you  are  like  ships  in  a  river,  which 
look  like  great  things." 

The  amount  of  the  king's  revenue  in  this  reign  was 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds ;  and  his 
ordinary  disbursements  are  said  to  have  exceeded  this  sum 
thirty-six  thousand  pounds. 


CHAP.  XIV. 

The  reign  of  Charles  I. 
No  sooner  had  Charles  assumed  the  reins  of  go- 
vernment, than  he  issued  writs  for  summoning  a  |kac 
new  parliament,  which,  after  the  arrival  of  the  prin- 
cess Henrietta,  whom  he  had  espoused  by  proxy,  assem- 
bled at  Westminster.     The  young  prince  addressed  them 
in  the  language  of  simplicity  and  cordiality ;  but  the  com- 
mons, though  aware  of  the  expenses  of  government,  and 
that  the  war  was  undertaken  in  compliance  with  their 
earnest  entreaties,  granted  a  supply  of  one  hundred  and 
twelve  thousand  pounds  only.     The  puritanical  party  were 
disgusted  with  the  court,  on  account  of  the  restraints  un- 
der which  they  were  held,  and  of  the  favour  suspected  to 
be  granted  to  the  catholics  by  the  treaty  of  marriage.    To 
the  moderate  supplies  allowed  by  parliament,  were  tacked 
concessions  in  favour  of  civil  liberty ;  and  Charles,  who 
had  imbibed  high  ideas  of  monarchical  power,  and  of  the 
prerogative  of  the  crown,  could  ill  brook  any  encroach- 
ments on  his  authority,  or  any  want  of  attention  to  his  rea- 
sonable demands. 

Though  he  condescended  to  employ  entreaties  with  the 
parliament,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  aid,  the  com- 
mons remained  inexorable  ;  and  a  new  discovery  inflamed 
them  against  the  court  and  the  duke  of  Buckingham. 
When  James  courted  the  alliance  with  France,  he  had 
promised  to  furnish  Lewis  with  eight  ships,  which  were  to 
be  employed  against  the  Genoese,  the  allies  of  Spain  ;  but 
vwhen  the  vessels  by  the  orders  of  Charles  arrived  at 
Dieppe,  a  strong  suspicion  arose  that  they  were  intended 
to  serve  against  the  Hugonots  of  Rochelle.  The  sailors 
were  inflamed;  and  Pennington,  their  commander,  de- 


276  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

clared,  that  he  would  rather  be  hanged  in  England  for  dis- 
obedience, than  fight  against  his  brother  protestants  in 
France.  The  whole  squadron  sailed  immediately  to  the 
Downs,  where  they  received  new  orders  from  Bucking- 
ham, lord  admiral,  to  return  to  Dieppe  ;  and  a  report  was 
industriously  spread,  that  a  peace  had  been  concluded  be- 
tween the  French  king  and  the  Hugonots.  When  they 
arrived  at  Dieppe,  they  found  themselves  deceived,  and 
again  returned  to  England,  notwithstanding  the  magnifi- 
cent offers  of  the  French. 

On  this  occasion,  the  commons  renewed  their  complaints 
against  the  growth  of  popery ;  and  Charles  gave  a  gra- 
cious and  compliant  answer  to  their  remonstrances ;  but 
when  he  found  that  the  parliament  was  resolved  to  grant 
him  no  supply,  he  used  the  pretence  of  the  plague  to  dis- 
solve the  assembly. 

To  supply  the  want  of  parliamentary  aids,  Charles  had 
recourse  to  the  unconstitutional  and  unpopular  expedient 
of  issuing  privy-seals,  for  borrowing  money  of  his  subjects ; 
and,  by  means  of  the  money  thus  procured,  he  equipped  a 
fleet  of  eighty  vessels,  carrying  ten  thousand  men,  which 
sailed  to  Cadiz  under  sir  Edward  Cecil,  lately  created  vis- 
count Wimbleton.  The  bay  was  full  of  Spanish  ships  of 
great  value ;  but  owing  to  some  neglect  or  misconduct, 
and  the  plague  breaking  out  among  the  seamen  and  sol- 
diers, the  fleet  was  obliged  to  return  to  England  without 
effecting  any  thing. 

Charles  having  failed  in  this  enterprise,  was  again  obli- 
ged to  have  recourse  to  a  parliament ;  and  though 
1fi2fi  he  hac* nominate(^  f°ur  P°pular  leaders,  to  be  sheriffs 
of  their  respective  counties,  and  by  that  means  had 
incapacitated  them  from  being  elected  members,  the  fer- 
ment of  opposition  still  continued.    The  commons,  indeed, 
voted  a  supply ;  but  the  passing  of  that  vote  into  a  law 
was  reserved  till  the  end  of  the  session  ;  and  they  annex^ 
ed  a  condition,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  regulate  and 
control  every  part  of  the  government  which    displeased 
them.     Great  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  by  Charles  at 
this  treatment ;  but  his  urgent  necessities  obliged  him  to 
submit. 

The  duke  of  Buckingham,  formerly  obnoxious  to  the 
public,  became  every  day  more  unpopular ;  and  the  house 
of  commons  impeached  him  of  various  crimes  and  misde- 


CHARLES   I.  277 

meanours.  While  the  commons  were  thus  engaged,  the 
lord-keeper,  in  the  king's  name,  expressly  commanded  the 
house  not  to  meddle  with  Buckingham;  and  Charles 
threatened  them,  that  if  they  did  not  furnish  him  with  sup- 
plies, he  should  be  obliged  to  try  new  counsels.  Two  mem* 
bers,  who  had  been  employed  as  managers  of  the  impeach- 
ment, were  thrown  into  prison.  The  commons  im- 
mediately declared,  that  they  would  proceed  no  farther 
upon  business  till  they  had  satisfaction  in  their  privileges. 
Charles  was  obliged  to  release  the  imprisoned  members  ; 
and  this  attempt  served  only  to  exasperate  the  house  still 
more.  The  commons  were  preparing  a  remonstrance 
against  the  levying  of  tonnage  and  poundage  without  con- 
sent of  parliament,  when  the  king,  with  intemperate  haste, 
ended  the  session ;  and  they  parted  in  mutual  ill  humour. 

The  new  counsels,  with  which  Charles  had  menaced 
the  parliament,  were  now  adopted:  a  commission  was 
openly  granted  to  compound  with  the  catholics,  and  agree 
for  dispensing  with  the  penal  laws  enacted  against  them ; 
from  the  nobility,  assistance  was  requested,  and  from  the 
city,  a  loan  required ;  and  the  maritime  towns,  with  the 
aid  of  the  adjacent  counties,  were  compelled  to  equip  a 
certain  number  of  ships.  This  is  the  first  appearance  in 
Charles'  reign  of  ship-money,  a  mode  of  taxation  which 
afterwards  produced  such  violent  discontents. 

Though  these  irregular  and  unequal  expedients  would* 
have  given  disgust  in  more  tranquil  times,  yet  Charles  pro- 
ceeded in  these  invidious  methods  with  some  degree  of  mo- 
deration, till  at  last,  under  the  name  of  a  general  loan,  he 
levied  a  sum  equal  to  four  subsidies.  Many,  however,  re- 
fused these  loans  ;  and  some  were  even  active  in  encoura- 
ging others  to  insist  on  their  common  rights  and  privile- 
ges. Several  were  thrown  into  prison  by  warrant  of  the 
council.  Of  these,  sir  Thomas  Darnel,  sir  John  Corbet, 
sir  Walter  Earl,  sir  John  Hevinghani,  and  sir  Edmund 
Hampden,  had  spirit  enough,  at  their  own  hazard  and 
expense,  to  defend  the  public  liberties,  and  to  demand  re- 
leasement,  not  as  a  favour  from  the  court,  but  as  a  matter 
of  right. 

The  question  was  brought  to  a  solemn  trial  before  the 

court  of  King's  Bench ;  but  though  sir  Randolph  Crew, 

chief  justice,  had  been  displaced  as  unfit  for  the  purposes 

of  the  court,  and  sir  Nicholas  Hyde,  esteemed  more  obse- 

24 


278  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

quious,  had  obtained  that  high  office,  yet  the  judges  went 
no  farther  than  to  remand  the  gentlemen  to  prison,  and  to 
refuse  the  bail  which  was  offered.  The  nation,  indeed, 
was  already  exasperated  to  a  very  high  degree,  by  a  variety 
of  real  grievances ;  and  except  a  few  courtiers  and  eccle- 
siastics, all  men  were  dissatisfied  with  the  measures  of  go- 
vernment, and  thought  that  if  some  remedy  were  not 
speedily  adopted,  all  hopes  of  preserving  the  freedom  of 
the  constitution  might  be  abandoned. 

Great,  however,  was  the  surprise,  when  Charles,  though 
baffled  in  every  attempt  against  Austria,  embroiled  with 
his  own  subjects,  and  unsupplied  with  any  treasure  except 
what  he  extorted  by  the  most  invidious  and  most  danger- 
ous measures,  wantonly  attacked  France,  the  other  great 
kingdom  in  his  neighbourhood.  This  rash  action  is  as- 
cribed to  the  counsels  of  Buckingham. 

When  Charles  married  by  proxy  the  princess  Henrietta, 
this  minister  and  minion  had  been  sent  to  France,  to  grace 
the  nuptials,  and  conduct  the  new  queen  into  England.  The 
beauty  of  his  person,  the  elegance  of  his  manners,  and  the 
splendour  of  his  equipage,  occasioned  general  admiration. 
Encouraged  by  the  smiles  of  the  court,  he  carried  his  ad- 
dresses to  the  queen  of  Lewis ;  and,  after  his  departure, 
he  secretly  returned,  and  visiting  the  queen,  was  dismissed 
with  a  reproof  which  savoured  more  of  kindness  than  of 
anger.  The  vigilance  of  Richelieu  soon  discovered  this 
correspondence ;  and  when  the  duke  was  making  prepa- 
rations for  a  new  embassy  to  Paris,  a  message  was  sent 
him,  that  his  presence  would  not  be  agreeable.  In  a  ro- 
mantic fit  of  passion,  he  swore,  "  that  he  would  see  the 
queen  in  spite  of  all  the  power  of  France  ;"  and  from  that 
moment,  he  determined  to  engage  England  in  a  war  witli 
that  kingdom. 

He  first  took  advantage  of  some  quarrels  excited  by  the 
queen  of  England's  attendants  ;  and  he  persuaded  Charles 
to  dismiss  all  her  French  servants,  contrary  to  the  articles 
of  .the  marriage  treaty.  He  encouraged  the  English  ships 
of  war  and  privateers  to  seize  vessels  belonging  to  French 
merchants,  and  these  he  forthwith  condemned  as  prizes, 
by  a  sentence  of  the  court  of  admiralty ;  but  finding  that ' 
these  injuries  produced  only  remonstrances,  or  at  most 
reprisals,  on  the  part  of  France,  he  resolved  to  second 


CHARLES    I.  279 

intrigues  of  the  duke  of  Soubize,  and  to  undertake  a  mili- 
tary expedition  against  that  kingdom. 

Soubize,  and  his  brother,  the  duke  of  Rohan,  were  the 
leaders  of  the  Hugonot  faction,  and  strongly  solicited  the 
assistance  of  Charles.  Accordingly,  a  fleet  of  one  hundred 
sail,  and  an  army  of  seven  thousand  men,  were  entrusted 
to  the  command  of  Buckingham  ;  but  when  the  fleet  ap- 
peared before  Rochelle,  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  refused 
to  admit  allies  of  whose  arrival  they  had  received  no  pre- 
vious information,  and  Buckingham  sailed  to  the  isle  of 
Rhe,  where  he  landed  his  men.  He  finally  returned  to 
England  with  the  loss  of  two  thirds  of  his  land  forces,  and 
with  no  other  credit  than  the  vulgar  one  of  courage  and 
personal  bravery. 

Great  discontents,  as  might  be  expected,  prevailed 
among  the  English  people.  Their  liberties  were  menaced ; 
illegal  taxes  extorted ;  their  commerce,  which  had  been 
already  injured,  was  totally  annihilated  by  the  French  war ; 
the  military  reputation  of  the  nation  had  been  tarnished  by 
two  unsuccessful  and  ill  conducted  expeditions ;  and  all 
these  calamities  were  ascribed  to  the  obstinacy  of  Charles, 
in  adhering  to  the  counsels  of  Buckingham,  whose  ser- 
vices and  abilities  by  no  means  deserved  such  unlimited 
confidence. 

In  this  situation  of  men's  minds,  the  king  and  the  duke 
dreaded  the  assembling  of  a  parliament ;  but  the 
money  levied,  or  rather  extorted,  under  colour  of  |J»oq 
prerogative,  had  been  very  slowly  procured,  and 
had  occasioned  much  ill  humour  in  the  nation  ;  and  as  it 
appeared  dangerous  to  renew  the  experiment,  and  a  supply 
was  absolutely  necessary,  it  was  resolved  to  call  a  parlia- 
ment. When  the  commons  assembled,  it  was  soon  found 
that  they  were  men  of  the  same  independent  spirit  with 
their  predecessors,  and  that  the  resentment  for  past  inju- 
ries was  neither  weakened  nor  forgotten.  The  court  party 
did  not  pretend  to  defend  the  late  measures  in  order  to 
procure  money,  except  on  the  ground  of  necessity,  to 
which  the  king  had  been  reduced  by  the  conduct  of  the 
two  former  parliaments ;  and  a  vote  was  passed,  without 
opposition,  against  arbitrary  imprisonments  and  forced 
loans.  In  return  for  this  concession,  a  supply  of  five  sub- 
sidies was  voted,  with  which  the  king  declared  himself 


280  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

satisfied ;  and  even  tears  of  affection  started  in  his  eye, 
when  he  was  informed  of  this  liberality. 

But  the  supply,  though  voted,  was  not  immediately 
passed  into  a  law  ;  and  the  commons  resolved  to  employ 
the  interval  in  providing  some  barriers  to  their  rights  and 
liberties,  so  lately  violated.  They  enumerated  all  the  en- 
croachments that  had  been  made  on  their  constitutional 
liberties,  under  the  name  of  a  "  petition  of  right ;"  and 
against  these  grievances  an  eternal  remedy  was  to  be  pro- 
vided. The  terms  in  which  this  petition  was  expressed, 
seem  to  have  been  just  and  reasonable,  yet  favourable  to 
public  freedom ;  but  Charles,  though  he  had  given  his 
consent  to  any  law  for  securing  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people,  had  not  expected  such  inroads  on  the  preroga- 
tive, in  regard  to  which  he  was  a  great  stickler ;  and  it 
was  not  without  much  difficulty,  and  many  evasions,  that 
the  royal  assent  was  obtained  to  a  measure  which  diffused 
a  general  joy  through  the  nation. 

Nothing  tended  more  to  excuse,  if  not  justify,  the  ex- 
treme rigour  of  the  commons  towards  Charles,  than  his 
open  encouragement  and  avowal  of  principles  incompati- 
ble with  a  limited  government.  One  doctor  Mainwaring 
had  preached  and  printed  a  sermon  subversive  ofv  all  civil 
liberty ;  and  the  commons  impeached  him  for  the  doctrines 
it  contained.  Mainwaring  was  sentenced  by  the  peers  to 
be  imprisoned  during  the  pleasure  of  the  house,  to  be  fined 
a  thousand  pounds,  to  be  suspended  for  three  years,  and 
to  be  rendered  incapable  of  holding  any  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nity or  secular  office.  However,  no  sooner  was  the  ses- 
sion ended,  than  Mainwaring  was  pardoned,  and  promoted 
to  a  living  of  considerable  value,  and,  some  years  after, 
raised  to  the  see  of  St.  Asaph.  This  action  sufficiently 
showed  the  insincerity  of  Charles  in  his  late  concessions. 

If,  however,  the  king  had  been  perfectly  sincere  in 
sanctioning  the  petition  of  right,  it  was  evident  that  the 
commons  would  still  have  been  dissatisfied.  They  con- 
tinued to  carry  their  scrutiny  into  every  part  of  govern- 
ment ;  and  they  expressly  declared,  that  the  levying  of 
tonnage  and  poundage  without  consent  of  parliament, 
was  a  palpable  violation  of  the  ancient  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  an  open  infringement  of  the  petition  of  right.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  presenting  of  this  remonstrance,  the 


CHARLES   I.  281 

king  came  suddenly  to  the  parliament,  and  ended  the  ses- 
sion by  a  prorogation. 

Freed  from  the  vexation  of  this  assembly,  Charles  began 
to  look  towards  foreign  wars.  A  considerable  fleet  and 
army  had  been  prepared  for  the  relief  of  Rochelle,  and 
Buckingham  had  gone  to  Portsmouth,  to  hasten  the  sail- 
ing of  the  armament.  Whilst  at  that  place,  one  Felton, 
of  an  ardent  and  melancholy  mind,  who  had  served  under 
the  duke,  and  had  retired  in  discontent  from  the  army, 
inflamed  with  private  resentment,  and  taught  by  a  remon- 
strance of  the  commons  to  consider  Buckingham  as  the 
cause  of  every  national  grievance,  fancied  that  he  should 
do  heaven  acceptable  service,  by  despatching  this  foe  to 
religion  and  to  his  country.  Accordingly,  as  the  duke,  in 
a  narrow  passage,  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  colo- 
nel sir  Thomas  Fyar,  he  was  on  a  sudden,  over  sir  Tho- 
mas's shoulder,  struck  on  the  breast  with  a  knife,  which 
he  pulled  out,  saying,  "  the  villain  has  killed  me,"  and 
with  these  words  breathed  his  last. 

No  one  had  seen  the  blow,  nor  the  person  who  inflicted 
it ;  but  near  the  door  was  found  a  hat,  in  which  were  four 
or  five  lines  of  the  remonstrance  of  the  commons,  declaring 
Buckingham  an  enemy  to  the  kingdom ;  and  it  was  readily 
concluded  that  this  hat  belonged  to  the  assassin.  In  this 
confusion,  a  person  without  a  hat  was  seen  walking  very 
composedly  before  the  door ;  and  one  crying  out,  "  here  is 
the  fellow  who  killed  the  duke,"  every  body  ran  to  ask, 
"  which  is  hel"  on  which  Felton  answered,  "  I  am  he." 
When  questioned  at  whose  instigation  he  had  committed 
the  horrid  deed,  he  replied,  that  no  man  living  had  credit 
enough  with  him,  to  have  disposed  him  to  such  an  action, 
and  that  believing  he  should  perish  in  the  attempt,  his 
motives  would  appear  in  his  hat. 

Charles  received  the  melancholy  news  of  the  death  of 
his  favourite  with  an  unmoved  countenance ;  but  he  re- 
tained during  his  whole  life  an  affection  for  Buckingham's 
friends,  and  a  prejudice  against  his  enemies.  Meanwhile, 
the  distress  of  Rochelle  had  raised  to  the  utmost  extre- 
mity ;  and  the  English  being  unable  to  relieve  the  place, 
the  inhabitants,  pressed  by  famine,  were  obliged  to  sur- 
render at  discretion. 

Though  for  more  than  a  century  the  duties  of  tonnage 
24* 


282  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

and  poundage  had  been  considered  as  the  king's 
1R2Q  (*ue'  witnout  tne  sanction  of  parliament,  and  had 
been  so  levied,  yet  Charles,  now  freed  from  the 
violent  counsels  of  Buckingham,  in  the  opening  of  this  ses- 
sion, informed  the  commons,  that  he  had  not  taken  these 
duties  as  appertaining  to  his  hereditary  prerogative,  but  as 
a  gift  of  his  people,  and  that  he  had  levied  tonnage  and 
poundage  out  of  necessity,  and  not  by  any  right  he  as- 
sumed.    This  concession  gave  a  temporary  satisfaction ; 
but  the  commons  could  not  be  pleased ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
had  obtained  one  point,  they  immediately  found  another 
to  contend  for.     Matters  of  religion  now  formed  the  only 
grievance  to  which,  in  their  opinion,  they  had  not  applied 
a  sufficient  remedy  by  their  petition  of  fight.     The  pre- 
sent house  of  commons,  like  all  the  preceding,  in  the  pre- 
sent and  two  former  reigns,  was  governed  by  the  puritani 
cal  party ;  and  they  thought  that  they  could  not  better 
serve  their  cause,  than  by  stigmatizing  and  punishing  the 
followers  of  Armenius,  some  of  whom,  by  the  indulgence 
of  James  and  Charles,  had  attained  the  highest  prefer- 
ments in  the  hierarchy.      Laud,  Neile,  Montague,  and 
other  bishops,  who  were  the  chief  supporters  of  episco- 
pacy, were  also  supposed  to  be  tainted  with  arminianism. 
These  men  were  regarded  by  the  puritans  as  objects  of 
enmity  and  distrust,  as  well  on  account  of  their  political 
as  their  religious  principles ;  but  they  were  protected  by 
Charles,  who  wisely  considered,  that  the  most  solid  basis 
of  his  authority  consisted  in  the  support  which  he  received 
from  the  hierarchy. 

Sir  John  Elliott  framed  a  remonstrance  against  levying 
tonnage  and  poundage  without  consent  of  parliament ; 
but  when  the  question  was  called  for,  sir  John  Finch,  the 
speaker,  said,  "  that  he  had  a  command  from  the  king  to 
adjourn,"  and  immediately  rose  and  left  the  chair.  The 
whole  house  was  in  an  uproar ;  and  the  speaker  was  push- 
ed back  into  the  chair,  and  forcibly  held  in  it  by  Hollis 
and  Valentine,  till  a  short  remonstrance  was  framed,  and 
passed  by  acclamation.  By  it,  papists  and  arminians  were 
declared  capital  enemies  to  the  commonwealth  ;  and  those 
who  levied,  and  even  those  who  paid  tonnage  and  pound- 
age, were  branded  with  the  same  epithet.  By  the  king's 
order,  the  mace  was  taken  from  the  table,  and  thus  ended 
their  proceedings ;  and  a  few  days  after,  the  parliament 


•:  CHARLES  I.  283 

was  dissolved.  Sir  Miles  Hobart,  sir  Peter  Hayman, 
Seldon,  Coriton,  Long,  and  Strode,  were  committed  to 
prison,  on  account  of  the  last  tumult  in  the  house,  which 
was  called  sedition ;  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty,  and 
after  several  delays,  that  they  obtained  their  release.  Sir 
John  Elliot,  Hollis,  and  Valentine,  were  condemned  by 
the  court  of  Ring's  Bench,  for  their  seditious  speeches 
and  behaviour  in  parliament,  to  be  imprisoned  during  the 
king's  pleasure,  and  to  pay  heavy  fines.  These  gloried 
in  their  sufferings,  and  would  not  condescend  to  petition 
the  king,  and  express  their  sorrow,  though  promised  liberty 
on  that  condition  ;  and  Elliot,  happening  to  die  while  in 
custody,  was  regarded  as  a  martyr  to  the  liberties  of  Eng- 
land. % 

Charles,  destitute  of  all  regular  supply,  was  reduced  to 
the  necessity  of  concluding  a  peace  with  France  and  Spain. 
No  conditions  were  made  in  favour  of  the  palatine, 
except  that  Spain  promised  in  general  to  use  its  1^0^ 
good  offices  for  his  restoration.     The  influence  of 
these  two  wars  on  domestic  affairs,  and  on  the  dispositions 
of  the  king  and  people,  was  of  the  utmost  consequence ; 
but  they  caused  no  alteration  in  the  foreign  interests  of 
the  kingdom,  which  were  at  this  time  in  the  most  prospe- 
rous condition. 

After  the  death  of  Buckingham,  the  queen  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  chief  friend  and  favourite  of  Charles.  By 
her  sense  and  spirit,  as  well  as  by  her  beauty,  she  justified 
the  partiality  of  her  husband  ;  but  her  religion,  to  which 
she  was  much  attached,  increased  the  jealousy  which  pre- 
vailed against  the  catholics  and  the  court. 

Charles  had  endeavoured  to  gain  the  popular  leaders, 
by  conferring  offices  upon  them ;  but  the  views  of  the 
king  were  so  repugnant  to  those  of  the  puritans,  that  the 
leaders  whom  he  gained,  lost  from  that  moment  all  influ- 
ence with  their  party.  This  was  the  case  with  sir  Thomas 
Wentworth,  whom  the  king  had  afterwards  created  earl  of 
Strafford,  made  president  of  the  council  of  York,  and 
deputy  of  Ireland,  and  who  was  regarded  as  his  chief  mi- 
nister and  counsellor.  By  his  eminent  talents  and  abili- 
ties, Strafford  merited  all  the  confidence  which  his  master 
reposed  in  him ;  but  as  he  now  employed  all  his  counsels 
to  support  the  prerogative,  which  he  had  formerly  endea- 
voured to  diminish,  he  was  detested  by  the  puritans.     In 


284  HISTORY   OP  ENGLAND. 

all  ecclesiastical  affairs,  Laud,  bishop  of  London,  had  the 
greatest  influence  over  the  king.  He  was  a  man  of  virtue 
and  talents ;  but  he  wanted  prudence,  and  a  flexibility  of 
character,  to  open  a  way  through  difliculties  and  opposi- 
tions. His  whole  study  was  to  exalt  the  dignity  of  the 
priesthood ;  but  he  weakly  imagined,  that  this  would  be 
best  effected  by  the  introduction  of  new  ceremonies  and 
observances,  and  a  strict  regard  to  the  external  forms  of 
religion ;  and  the  discontented  puritans  affected  to  consi- 
der the  church  of  England  as  relapsing  fast  into  Romish 
superstition.  Certain,  however,  it  is,  that  Laud  magnified, 
on  every  occasion,  the  regal  authority,  and  treated  with 
disdain  all  pretensions  to  a  free  constitution. 

Charles  issued  a  proclamation,  declaring,  that  "  though 
his  majesty  has  shown,  by  frequent  meetings  with  his  peo- 
ple, his  love  to  the  use  of  parliaments  ;  yet  the  late  abuse 
having,  for  the  present,  driven  him  unwillingly  out  of  that 
course,  he  will  account  it  presumption  for  any  one  to  pre- 
scribe to  him  any  time  for  the  calling  of  that  assembly." 
This  was  generally  considered  as  a  declaration,  that 
Charles  did  not  intend  to  summon  any  more  parliaments  ; 
and  every  measure  of  the  king's  tended  to  confirm  this 
suspicion,  so  disagreeable  to  the  people. 

Tonnage  and  poundage  continued  to  be  levied  by  the 
royal  authority  alone ;  and  the  king  had  recourse  to  va- 
rious unconstitutional  expedients  of  raising  money  by  vir- 
tue of  his  prerogative,  in  every  possible  way,  contrary  not 
only  to  the  rights  of  the  people,  but  in  many  instances 
also  in  direct  opposition  to  their  general  feelings  and  pre- 
judices. The  severities  of  the  star-chamber  and  high 
commission  court  were  revived,  with  all  their  force  and 
malignity ;  and  being  exercised  against  those  who  were 
the  champions  of  freedom,  and  who  triumphed  in  their 
sufferings,  the  government  became  still  more  odious. 
Prynne,  a  barrister,  having  written  a  book,  intituled  His- 
trio-Mastyx,  in  which  he  censured  not  only  stage-plays, 
music  and  dancing,  but  also  hunting,  public  festivals, 
christmas-keeping,  bonfires,  and  May-poles,  was  indicted 
in  the  star-chamber  as  a  libeller,  merely  because  the  king 
and  queen  frequented  the  theatres,  and  the  queen  some- 
times acted  a  part  in  pastorals  and  interludes  represented 
at  court.  The  star-chamber  sentenced  him  to  lose  both 
feis  ears,  to  stand  in  the  pillory,  to  pay  a  fine  of  five  thou- 


CHARLES    I.  285 

sand  pounds,  and  to  be  imprisoned  during  life.  This  man 
was  a  champion  among  the  puritans  ;  and  it  was  probably 
with  a  view  of  mortifying  that  sect,  that  he  was  condemn- 
ed to  such  a  severe  and  ignominious  punishment. 

Charles  made  a  journey  to  Scotland,  attended  by  the 
court,  in  order  to  hold  a  parliament  there,  and  to 
pass  through  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation.     Af-  1  '^A 
ter  his  return,  on  the  death  of  archbishop  Abbot, 
he  conferred  the  see  of  Canterbury  on  Laud,  and  that  of 
London  on  Juxton,  a  person  of  great  integrity,  mildness, 
and  humanity. 

Ship-money  was  now  levied  by  virtue  of  the  preroga- 
tive ;  and  though  the  amount  of  the  whole  tax  little  ex- 
ceeded two  hundred  thousand   pounds,  and  was 
equally   assessed,   and   entirely  expended  on   the   i^oi 
navy,  yet  as  it  was  wholly  arbitrary,  the  discontents 
it  excited,  and  the  irregular  means  by  which  it  was  en- 
forced, produced  the  most  important  consequences.     The 
good  effects  of  a  navy,  however,  were  soon  apparent.     A 
fleet  of  sixty  sail  attacked  the  herring  fisheries  of  the  Dutch, 
who  consented  to  pay  thirty  thousand  pounds  for  a  license 
for  one  year ;  and  a  squadron  was  sent  against  Sallee, 
and  destroyed  that  receptacle  of  pirates,  by  whom  the 
English  commerce,  and  even  the  English  coasts,  had  been 
long  infested. 

Burton,  a  divine,  and  Bastwick,  a  physician,  were  tried 
in  the  star-chamber  for  seditious  and  schismatical  libels, 
and  condemned  to  the  same  punishment  as  Prynne.  The 
rigours  of.the  star-chamber,  which  had  increased  in  seve- 
rity since  the  promotion  of  Laud,  induced  the  leaders  of 
the  puritans  to  endeavour  to  ship  themselves  off  for  Ame- 
rica, where  others  of  their  sect  had  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  free  government ;  but  the  council,  dreading  the  conse- 
quences of  a  disaffected  colony,  a  proclamation  was  issued 
to  prevent  their  sailing;  and  thus  sir  Arthur  Haselrig, 
John  Hampden,  John  Pym,  and  Oliver  Cromwell,  were 
detained  in  England,  after  having  embarked  on  board  of 
vessels  in  the  river  Thames,  for  the  purpose  of  abandon- 
ing their  native  country  for  ever. 

It  would  be  impossible,  in  this  short  work,  to  enter  into 
a  detail  of  the  various  means  employed  for  abridging  or 
destroying  the  few  remaining  liberties  of  the  people.  It 
may  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that  the  unconstitutional  acts 


£36  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  Charles,  and  the  oppression  which  was  universally  felt, 
produced  murmurs  and  complaints,  and  at  length  re- 
sistance. 

John  Hampden,  who  had  been  detained  in  England 
against  his  will,  has  deserved  well  of  his  country  for  the 
bold  stand  which  he  made  in  defence  of  its  laws  and  liber- 
ties. Rather  than  tamely  submit  to  so  illegal  an  imposi- 
tion as  the  levying  of  ship  money,  he  resolved  to  abide  the 
event  of  a  legal  prosecution,  though  the  sum  in  which  he 
was  rated  did  not  exceed  twenty  shillings.  The  case  was 
argued  during  twelve  days,  in  the  exchequer-chamber,  be- 
fore all  the  judges  of  England ;  and  the  attention  of  the 
nation  was  strongly  excited  to  every  circumstance  of  this 
celebrated  trial.  The  event  was  easily  foreseen  ;  the  pre- 
judiced judges,  with  the  exception  of  four  of  them,  gave 
sentence  in  favour  of  the  crown.  Hampden,  however, 
obtained  by  the  trial  the  end  for  which  he  had  generously 
sacrificed  his  safety  and  his  quiet ;  the  people  were  roused 
from  their  lethargy,  and  became  fully  sensible  of  the  dan- 
ger to  which  their  liberties  were  exposed. 

In  this  state  of  discontent  and  despondency,  Charles  at- 
tempted to  introduce  episcopacy  into  Scotland :  and  by 
this  attempt,  he  alienated  the  affections  of  his  Scottish 
subjects,  and  threw  both  kingdoms  into  a  flame.  Against 
the  combination  of  the  Scots,  who  were  contending  for 

what  they  considered  as  dearer  to  them  than  life, 
I  Lo  the  king  had  nothing  to  oppose  but  a  proclamation. 

This  was  instantly  encountered  by  a  public  protes- 
tation ;  and  the  insurrection  which  had  been  advancing 
by  a  gradual  and  slow  progress,  now  blazed  up  at  once. 
No  disorder,  however,  attended  it.  On  the  contrary,  a 
new  order  immediately  took  place.  Four  tables,  as  they 
were  called,  were  formed  in  Edinburgh.  One  consisted 
of  nobility,  another  of  gentry,  a  third  of  ministers,  and  a 
fourth  of  burgesses.  In  the  hands  of  the  four  tables  the 
whole  authority  of  the  kingdom  was  placed ;  and  among 
the  first  acts  of  their  government  was  the  production  of 

the  COVENANT. 

This  covenant  consisted,  first,  of  a  renunciation  of  po- 
pery, formerly  signed  by  James  in  his  youth  ;  and  this  was 
followed  by  a  bond  of  union,  by  which  the  subscribers 
obliged  themselves  to  resist  religious  innovations,  and  to 
defend  each  other  against  all  opposition  whatever.     Peo- 


CHARLES    I.  287 

pie  of  every  rank  and  condition  hastened  to  sign  this  cove- 
nant ;  and  so  general  was  the  contagion,  that  it  seized  the 
very  ministers  and  counsellors  of  the  king. 

Charles  was  now  willing  entirely  to  abolish  the  canons, 
the  liturgy,  and  the  high  commission  court ;  and  he  gave 
authority  to  summon  first  an  assembly,  then  a  parliament, 
where  every  national  grievance  should  be  redressed ;  but 
he  wished  on  any  terms  to  retain  episcopacy  in  the  church 
of  Scotland.  The  covenanters  saw  that  it  would  be  ne- 
cessary to  retain  their  religious  tenets  by  military  force ; 
and  the  Dutch  and  French,  who  sought  occasion  for  re- 
venge, on  account  of  a  former  misunderstanding,  secretly 
fomented  the  commotions  in  Scotland,  and  supplied  the 
covenanters  with  money  and  arms.  The  principal  re- 
source, however,  of  the  Scottish  malcontents,  was  in  their 
own  vigour  and  abilities.  The  earl  of  Argyle  became  the 
chief  leader  of  the  party ;  and  Leslie,  a  soldier  of  expe- 
rience and  merit,  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
their  forces. 

Notwithstanding  Charles's  aversion  to  sanguinary  mea- 
sures, his  attachment  to  the  hierarchy  prevailed ;  and  he 
equipped  a  fleet,  and  levied  a  considerable  army,  which  he 
joined  himself  at  Berwick.  Dreading,  however,  the  con- 
sequences of  a  defeat,  he  suddenly  concluded  a  peace,  by 
which  it  was  stipulated,  that  he  should  withdraw  his  fleet 
and  army,  that  the  Scots  should  dismiss  their  forces,  that 
the  king's  authority  should  be  acknowledged,  and  that  a 
general  assembly  and  parliament-  should  be  immediately 
convoked,  in  order  to  compose  all  differences. 

When  the  assembly  met,  they  voted  episcopacy  to  be 
unlawful  in  the  church  of  Scotland :  Charles  was  only 
willing  to  allow  it  to  be  contrary  to  the  constitutions  of  the 
church.  They  stigmatized  the  liturgy  and  canons  as  po- 
pish :  he  agreed  simply  to  abolish  them.  They  denomi- 
nated the  high  commission  tyranny  :  he  was  content  to  set 
it  aside.  The  parliament,  which  sat  after  the  assembly, 
advanced  pretensions  which  tended  to  dimmish  the  civil 
power  of  the  monarch  ;  and  they  were  proceeding  to  ratify 
i  lie  acts  of  the  assembly,  when  they  were  prorogued  by 
the  order  of  Charles.  And  on  account  of  these  claims, 
which  might  have  been  foreseen,  the  war  was  renewed 
with  great  advantage  on  the  side  of  the  covenanters,  and 
disadvantages  on  that  of  the  king. 


388  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  covenanters,  when  they  dismissed  their  troops,  had 
Cautiously  warned  them  to  be  ready  at  a  momt  it's  notice; 
and  the  religious  zeal  with  which  they  were  inspi- 
1640  rec*'  ma<^e  tnem  %  t0  their  standards  as  soon  as 
summoned;  but  the  king,  with  great  difficulty, 
drew  together  an  army,  which  he  soon  discovered  that  he 
was  unable  to  support.  Charles,  therefore,  found  himself 
under  the  necessity  of  calling  a  parliament,  after  an  inter- 
mission of  eleven  years  ;  but  after  the  king  had  tried  many 
irregular  methods  of  taxation,  and  after  multiplied  disgusts 
given  to  the  puritans,  who  sympathized  with  their  discon- 
tented brethren  in  Scotland  ;  above  all,  when  he  consider- 
ed the  spirit  with  which  former  parliaments  had  been  ac- 
tuated, he  could  feel  little  confidence  in  a  measure  which 
his  necessities  had  obliged  him  to  adopt.  Instead  of  sup- 
plies, he  was  assailed  with  murmurs  arid  complaints. 
Charles,  finding  that  ship  money,  in  particular,  gave  great 
alarm  and  disgust,  declared  that  he  never  intended  to  make 
a  constant  revenue  of  it,  and  that  all  the  money  levied  had 
been  faithfully  applied  ;  and  he  offered  a  total  renuncia- 
tion of  that  obnoxious  claim,  by  any  law  which  the  com- 
mons might  think  proper  to  frame.  In  return,  he  only 
asked  a  supply  of  twelve  subsidies,  about  six  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  and  that  payable  in  three  years. 

To  the  partisans  of  the  court,  who  urged  a  reasonable 
confidence  in  the  king,  and  a  supply  of  his  present  wants, 
the  popular  leaders  replied,  that  it  was  the  ancient  prac- 
tice of  parliament  to  give  grievances  the  precedency  of 
supply ;  and  that  by  bargaining  for  the  remission  of  an 
unconstitutional  duty,  they  would  in  a  manner  ratify  the 
authority  by  which  it  had  been  levied.  These  reasons, 
joined  to  so  many  causes  of  ill-humour,  produced  their 
effect  on  the  majority ;  and  some  affirmed,  that  the  amount 
of  twelves  subsidies  was  a  greater  sum  than  could  be  found 
in  all  England.  Such  were  the  happy  ignorance  and  in- 
experience of  those  times,  in  regard  to  taxation  ! 

The  king,  seeing  that  the  same  principles  still  prevailed, 
which  had  occasioned  him  so  much  disturbance  in  the  for- 
mer parliaments,  and  being  informed  that  a  vote  was  about 
to  pass,  which  would  blast  his  revenue  of  ship-money,  with- 
out allowing  him  any  compensation  in  return,  formed  the 
hasty  resolution  of  dissolving  the  assembly,  a  measure  of 


which  he  s 


CHARLES  i.  289 


rhich  he  soon  after  heartily  repented,  and  for  which  he 
was  severely  blamed. 

Charles,  disappointed  of  parliamentary  subsidies,  was 
obliged  to  have  recourse  again  to  his  usual  expedients ; 
and  new  exactions  and  acts  of  assumed  authority  served 
only  to  increase  the  general  discontent.  With  some  diffi- 
culty he  collected  sufficient  means  for  marching  his  army, 
consisting  of  nineteen  thousand  foot,  and  two  thousand 
horse,  under  the  earls  of  Northumberland  and  Strafford, 
and  lord  Conway.  The  Scottish  army,  which  was  some- 
what superior,  had  already  entered  England,  as  they  pre- 
tended', with  no  other  view  than  to  obtain  access  to  the 
king's  presence,  and  to  lay  their  humble  petition  at  his 
feet.  At  Newburn  upon  Tyne,  a  detachment  under  Con- 
way seemed  to  dispute  the  passage  of  that  river.  The 
Scots  first  entreated  them  not  to  stop  them  in  their  march 
to  their  gracious  sovereign ;  and  then  attacked  them  with 
great  bravery,  killed  several,  and  chased  the  remainder 
from  their  ground.  Such  a  panic  then  seized  the  whole 
English  army,  that  the  forces  at  Newcastle  fled  immedi- 
ately to  Durham,  and  afterwards  into  Yorkshire. 

The  Scots  took  possession  of  Newcastle  ;  and,  in  order 
to  prevent  their  advancing  upon  him,  the  king  agreed  to 
a  treaty,  and  named  sixteen  English  noblemen,  who  were 
all  popular  men,  to  meet  eleven  Scottish  commissioners 
at  Rippon. 

An  address  arrived  from  the  city  of  London,  petitioning 
for  a  parliament ;  and  Charles,  in  despair  of  being  able  to 
stem  the  torrent,  at  last  determined  to  yield  to  it,  and  de- 
clared that  it  was  his  wish  to  meet  the  representatives  of 
his  people.  As  many  difficulties  occurred  in  the  negotia- 
tions with  the  Scots,  it  was  proposed,  likewise,  to  transfer 
the  treaty  from  Rippon  to  London,  a  proposal  willingly 
embraced  by  the  commissioners  of  that  nation,  who  were 
sure  of  treating  with  advantage,  in  a  place  where  the  king 
would  have  more  enemies  and  they  more  friends. 

The  causes  of  disgust  which,  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
had  been  multiplying  in  England,  were  now  arrived  at  full 
maturity.     No  sooner  had  the  house  of  commons 
assembled,  than  they  impeached  Strafford,  who  |J,j^ 
had  incurred  the  resentment  of  the  three  kingdoms, 
by  different  services  rendered  to  his  unpopular  master. 
Fym  enumerated  all  the  grievances  under  which  the  nn- 
25 


290  ,       HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

tion  laboured ;  and  after  several  hours  spent  in  invective 
or  debate,  the  impeachment  of  Strafford  was  voted ;  and 
Pym  was  chosen  to  carry  it  up  to  the  lords.  Strafford, 
who  had  just  entered  the  house  of  peers,  was  immediately 
ordered  into  custody,  with  symptoms  of  violent  prejudice 
in  his  judges  as  well  as  in  his  prosecutors. 

An  impeachment  of  high  treason  was  also  voted  against 
Laud,  who  was  committed  to  custody  ;  and  the  lord-keeper 
Finch,  and  secretary  Windebank,  were  charged  with  the 
same  crime ;  but  these  ministers,  conscious  of  their  dan- 
ger, escaped  to  the  continent.  In  short,  all  the  officers 
and  servants  of  the  crown,  who  had  been  guilty  of  any 
obnoxious  or  oppressive  measure,  were  called  upon  to  an- 
swer for  their  conduct ;  and  even  the  judges,  who  had 
given  their  vote  against  Hampden,  in  the  trial  of  ship 
money,  were  accused  before  the  peers,  and  obliged  to  find 
security  for  their  appearance. 

Thus,  in  a  short  time,  the  whole  sovereign  power  was 
transferred  to  the  commons ;  and  this  was  the  time  when 
genius  and  talents,  freed  from  the  restraint  of  authority, 
began  to  display  themselves.  Pym,  Hampden,  St.  John, 
Hollis,  and  Vane,  greatly  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
various  endowments ;  and  even  men  of  more  moderate 
talents,  and  of  different  principles,  caught  a  portion  of  the 
same  spirit  from  the  situation  in  which  they  were  placed. 

The  harangues  of  members,  now  first  published,  kept 
alive  the  discontents  against  the  king's  administration ; 
and  the  sentence  against  Prynne,  Bastwick,  and  Burton, 
being  reversed  by  parliament,  these  writers  were  again  turn- 
ed loose  upon  the  public,  and  increased  the  general  ferment. 

From  necessity,  the  king  remained  entirely  passive  du- 
ring these  violent  proceedings.  "  You  have  taken  the  whole 
machine  of  government  to  pieces,"  said  Charles,  in  a 
speech  to  parliament ;  "  a  practice  frequent  with  skilful 
artists,  when  they  desire  to  clean  the  wheels  from  any  rust 
which  may  have  grown  upon  them."  "  The  engine,"  con- 
tinued he,  "  may  again  be  restored  to  its  former  use  and 
motions,  provided  it  be  put  up  entire,  so  as  not  a  pin  of  it 
be  wanting."  But  this  was  far  from  the  intention  of  the 
commons,  who,  like  all  violent  reformers,  destroyed  the 
whole  machine,  instead  of  removing  only  such  parts  as 
might  justly  be  deemed  superfluous  and  injurious. 

The    commons,    besides   overawing  their  opponents, 


CHARLES   I.  291 

thought  it  necessary  to  encourage  their  friends  and  adhe- 
rents ;  and,  with  this  view,  they  voted  the  Scots  a  subsis- 
tence of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  day,  and  St. 
Antholine's  church  was  assigned  them  for  their  devotions, 
where  their  chaplains  began  to  practise  the  presbyterian 
form  of  worship,  to  which  multitudes  of  all  ranks  resorted. 
The  most  effectual  expedient  for  procuring  the  favour  of 
the  zealous  Scots,  was  the  promotion  of  the  presbyterian 
discipline  and  worship  throughout  England ;  and  to  this  in- 
novation the  popular  leaders  among  the  commons,  as  well 
as  their  more  devoted  partisans,  were  sufficiently  inclined. 
*  Petitions  against  the  church  were  framed  in  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  a  bill  was  introduced,  prohibit- 
ing the  clergy  from  holding  any  civil  office,  and  of  course 
depriving  the  bishops  of  a  seat  in  the  house  of  peers. 
This  bill,  however,  was  rejected  in  the  uppelrtouse  by  a 
great  majority ;  but  the  puritans,  far  from  being  discouraged 
by  this  opposition  ,s  immediately  brought  in  another  bill  for 
the  total  abolition  of  episcopacy,  though  they  thought  pros 
per  to  suffer  it  to  sleep  till  a  more  favourable  opportunity. 

The  commons  next  issued  orders  for  demolishing  all 
images,  altars,  and  crucifixes ;  and  so  great  was  the  ab- 
horrence against  the  latter,  that  some  of  the  most  zealous 
would  not  suffer  one  piece  of  wood  or  stone  to  lie  over 
another  at  right  angles.  Most  of  the  established  ceremo- 
nies of  religious  worship,  and  the  ordinary  vestments  of  its 
ministers,  were  considered  as  savouring  of  popery ;  and 
the  professors  of  that  religion,  in  particular,  were  treated 
with  the  utmost  harshness  and  indignity,  from  which  the 
queen-mother,  who  had  been  obliged  by  some  court  in- 
trigues to  retire  to  England,  and  even  the  queen  herself, 
were  not  exempt. 

Charles,  finding  by  experience  the  ill  effects  of  his  arbi- 
trary measures,  now  endeavoured  to  regain  the  confidence 
of  his  people,  by  concessions,  and  a  conformity  to  their 
inclinations.  He  passed  a  bill,  by  which  the  right  of  grant- 
ing the  duties  of  tonnage  and  poundage  was  asserted  as 
belonging  to  the  commons  alone  ;  and  with  some  difficulty 
he  consented  to  a  law  for  triennial  parliaments,  which  was 
clogged  with  such  conditions,  that  the  legitimate  power 
of  a  king  was  reduced  almost  to  a  shadow.  A  change  of 
ministers,  as  well  as  measures,  was  also  resolved  on ;  and 


292  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

in  one  day  several  new  privy-counsellors  were  sworn,  all 
of  the  popular  party. 

The  end  on  which  the  king  was  most  intent  in  changing 
his  ministers  was,  to  save  the  life  of  the  earl  of  StraiFord  ; 
but  the  impeachment  of  that  unfortunate  nobleman  was 
pushed  on  with  the  utmost  vigour ;  and,  after  long  and 
solemn  preparations,  was  brought  to  a  final  issue.  Twenty- 
eight  articles  were  exhibited  against  him  ;  but  though  four 
months  had  been  employed  by  the  managers,  and  all 
Strafford's  answers  were  extemporaneous,  it  appears  from 
comparison,  that  he  was  not  only  guiltless  of  trea- 
Ifill  son'  ^ut  m  some  degree  free  from  censure,  if  we 
make  allowance  for  human  infirmities  exposed  to 
such  difficult  circumstances.  The  accusation  and  defence 
lasted  eighteen  days,  during  which  Strafford  conducted 
himself  with  a  degree  of  firmness,  moderation,  and  wisdom, 
that  extorted  the  admiration  of  his  most  bitter  enemies ; 
but  the  commons  were  determined  to  convict  him  ;  and, 
therefore,  on  the  most  incompetent  evidence,  or  rather 
against  usual  legal  evidence,  the  bill  of  attainder  passed 
with  no  greater  opposition  than  that  of  fifty- nine  votes. 

After  the  bill  had  passed  the  commons,  the  puritanical 
pulpits  resounded  with  the  necessity  of  executing  justice 
on  great  delinquents  ;  about  six  thousand  armed  men  sur- 
rounded the  houses  of  parliament ;  and  the  populace, 
worked  up  to  a  degree  of  frenzy  by  their  leaders,  nocked 
round  Whitehall,  where  the  king  resided,  and  accompa- 
nied their  demands  against  Strafford  with  the  most  open 
menaces. 

About  eighty  peers  had  constantly  attended  Strafford's 
trial ;  but  such  were  the  apprehensions  of  the  popular  tu- 
mults, that  only  forty-five  were  present  when  the  bill  of 
attainder  was  brought  into  the  upper  house  ;  yet  of  these, 
nineteen  had  the  courage  to  vote  against  it.  On  which- 
ever side  the  king  cast  his  eyes,  he  saw  no  resource  or  se- 
curity. All  his  servants,  consulting  their  own  safety 
rather  than  their  master's  honour,  declined  to  interpose 
their  advice  between  him  and  his  parliament ;  and  the 
queen,  terrified  with  the  appearance  of  so  great  a  danger, 
pressed  him  to  satisfy  his  people  in  this  demand.  Juxton 
alone,  whose  courage  was  not  inferior  to  his  other  virtues, 
counselled  the  king  not  to  act  contrary  to  his  conscience. 

Strafford,  hearing  of  the   irresolution  and  anxiety  of 


CHARLES   I.  293 

Charles,  wrote  to  the  king,  and  with  a  noble  effort  of  mag- 
nanimity entreated  him,  for  the  sake  of  public  peace,  to 
put  an  end  to  his  unfortunate,  however  innocent  life,  and 
to  quiet  the  tumultuous  populace,  by  granting  the  request 
for  which  they  were  so  importunate.  "  In  this,"  added  he, 
"  my  consent  will  more  acquit  you  to  God  than  all  the  world 
can  do  besides.     To  a  willing  man  there  is  no  injury." 

After  suffering  the  most  agonizing  conflicts,  Charles  at 
last  granted  a  commission  to  four  noblemen  to  give  his  as- 
sent to  the  bill ;  and  he  also  empowered  them,  at  the  same 
time,  to  sanction  a  bill  which  was  still  more  fatal  to  his 
interests,  and  by  which  the  parliament  could  neither  be 
adjourned  nor  dissolved  without  their  own  consent. 

Secretary  Carleton  was  sent  by  the  king  to  inform  Straf- 
ford of  the  final  result ;  and  the  unhappy  earl  at  first  ap- 
peared surprised  ;  but  soon  collecting  his  native  courage, 
he  prepared  for  the  fatal  event,  which  was  to  take  place 
after  an  interval  of  three  days.  During  this  period,  Charles 
endeavoured  to  obtain  from  the  parliament  a  mitigation  of 
his  sentence,  or  at  least  some  delay,  but  was  refused  both 
requests. 

Strafford,  in  passing  from  his  apartments  to  Tower-hill, 
where  the  scaffold  was  erected,  stopped  under  Laud's  win- 
dows, and  entreated  the  assistance  of  his  prayers.  The 
aged  primate,  dissolved  in  tears,  pronounced  a  tender 
blessing  on  his  departing  friend,  and  sunk  into  the  arms 
of  his  attendants.  Strafford,  however,  still  superior  to  his 
fate,  passed  on  with  an  elated  countenance,  and  an  air  of 
dignity  ;  and  his  mind  maintained  its  unbroken  resolution 
amidst  the  terrors  of  death,  and  the  unfeeling  exultations 
of  his  misguided  enemies.  His  speech  on  the  scaffold 
was  replete  with  fortitude  and  christian  hope,  and  at  one 
blow  he  was  launched  into  eternity. 

Thus  perished,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  personages  that  has  appeared  in  Eng- 
land, and  the  most  faithful  of  the  adherents  of  Charles  ; 
but  his  death  was  so  far  from  producing  that  calm  which 
the  king  had  expected  from  the  sacrifice,  that  the  commons 
renewed  their  claims,  extorted  an  abolition  of  the  high 
commission  and  star-chamber  courts,  and  remedied  various 
other  abuses  which  militated  against  the  principles  of  con- 
stitutional freedom. 

During  this  busy  period,  the  princess  Mary  had  beea 
2£* 


294  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

married  to  William,  prince  of  Orange,  with  the  approba- 
tion of  parliament.  A  small  committee  of  both  •  houses 
was  appointed  to  attend  the  king  into  Scotland,  which  he 
had  resolved  to  visit ;  and  Charles,  despoiled  in  England 
of  a  considerable  part  of  his  authority,  arrived  in  Scotland 
only  to  abdicate  the  small  share  which  remained  to  him  in 
that  kingdom. 

Charles,  unable  to  resist,  had  been  obliged  to  yield  to 
the  Irish,  as  well  as  to  the  Scottish  and  English  parlia- 
ments ;  and  the  commons  of  England,  jealous  of  a  stand- 
ing army  in  Ireland,  entirely  attache^  to  the  king,  pre- 
vailed on  his  majesty,  contrary  to  his  own  judgment,  to 
disband  it. 

Though  the  animosity  of  the  Irish  against  the  English 
nation  appeared  to  be  extinguished,  they  were  no  sooner 
freed  from  the  dread  of  a  military  force,  than  a  gentleman, 
called  Roger  More,  formed  the  project  of  expelling  the 
English,  and  asserting  the  independence  of  his  native 
country.  This  man.  maintained  a  close  correspondence 
with  lord  Maguire  $nd  sir  Phelim  O'Neale,  the  most  pow- 
erful of  the  old  Irish ;  and  he  secretly  went  from  chieftain 
to  chieftain,  and  roused  up  every  latent  principle^  of  dis- 
content. The  reasons  of  More  engaged  all  tne  heads  of 
the  native  Irish  in  the  conspiracy.  The  insurrection  be- 
came general;  and  a  massacre  of  the  English  commenced, 
in  which,  when  it  took  place,  neither  age,  sex,  nor  condi- 
tion, was  spared.  The  old,  the  young,  the  vigorous,  and 
the  infirm,  underwent  a  like  fate,  and  were  confounded  in 
one  common  ruin.  In  vain  was  recourse  had  to  relations 
or  friends  ;  the  dearest  ties  were  torn  asunder  without  pity 
or  remorse  ;  and  death  was  dealt  by  that  hand,  from  which 
protection  was  implored  and  expected. 

Death,  however,  was  the  slightest  punishment  inflicted 
by  the  Irish.  All  the  tortures  which  wanton  cruelty  could 
devise,  all  the  lingering  pains  of  body,  and  anguish  of 
mind,  which  malicious  ingenuity  could  invent,  were  now 
put  in  practice ;  and  the  generous  nature  of  More  was 
shocked  at  the  recital  of  such  enormous  cruelties ;  but  he 
found  that  his  authority,  though  sufficient  to  excite  the 
Irish  to  an  insurrection,  was  unable  to  restrain  their  inhu- 
manity. 

The  saving  of  Dublin  alone  preserved  in  Ireland  the 
remains  of  the  English  name.    The  gates  of  that  city, 


CHARLES    I.  295 

though  timorously  opened,  received  the  wretched  suppli- 
cants, and  presented  to  the  view  a  scene  of  human  misery 
beyond  description.  Diseases  of  unknown  name  and  spe- 
cies, derived  from  their  multiplied  distresses,  seized  many, 
and  put  a  period  to  their  lives  ;  others,  having  now  leisure 
to  reflect  on  their  severe  loss  of  friends  and  fortune,  cursed 
that  being  which  they  had  preserved. 

Charles  found  himself  obliged  in  this  exigency  to  have 
recourse  to  parliament ;  but  that  assembly  manifested  the 
same  opposition  to  the  king  in  which  they  had  separated ; 
and  the  increasing  of  their  own  authority,  and  the  dimi- 
nishing of  the  regal  power,  were  the  objects  still  pursued. 
By  assuming  the  total  management  of  the  war  in  Ireland, 
they- deprived  the  crown  of  its  executive  power;  and  it 
was  even  roundly  insinuated,  that  the  pernicious  counsels 
by  which  Charles  had  been  guided,  had  given  rise  to  the 
popish  rebellion. 

To  render  the  attack  on  royalty  more  systematic,  the 
commons  framed  a  general  remonstrance  of  the  state  of 
the  nation,  comprising  every  real  or  supposed  grievance, 
from  the  accession  of  Charles ;  and  this  was  published 
without  being  carried  up  to  the  house  of  peers  for  their 
assent  and  concurrence. 

This  violent  measure  extremely  agitated  the  sober  and 
reflecting ;  and  Charles  immediately  published  an  answer 
to  the  remonstrance,  in  which  he  made  the  warmest  pro- 
testations of  his  sincere  attachment  to  the  established  reli- 
gion, expatiated  with  truth  on  the  great  concessions  he  had 
lately  made  in  favour  of  civil  liberty,  and  complained  of 
the  reproaches  with  which  his  person  and  government 
were  attacked  ;  but  the  ears  of  the  people  were  prejudiced 
against  him,  and  nothing  he  could  offer  appeared  to  them 
a  sufficient  apology  for  his  former  misconduct. 

The  commons  resumed  their  encroachments  ;  and  every 
measure  pursued  by  them  showed  their  determined  resolu- 
tion to  reform  the  whole  fabric  of  civil  and  religious  go- 
vernment. The  majority  of  the  peers,  of  course,  adhered 
to  the  king,  and  saw  the  depression  of  their  own  order  in 
the  usurpations  on  the  crown  ;  but  some  of  them,  finding 
their  credit  high  with  the  nation,  ventured  to  encourage 
those  popular  disojflers,  which  they  vainly  imagined  they 
could  hereafter  regulate  and  control. 

The  pulpits  resounded  with  the  dangers  which  threaten- 


296  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

ed  religion ;  and  the  populace  crowded  round  Whitehall* 
and  threw  out  menaces  against  Charles  himself.  Several 
gentlemen  now  offered  their  services  to  the  king ;  and  be- 
tween them  and  the  rabble  frequent  skirmishes  took  place. 
By  way  of  reproach,  these  gentlemen  gave  the  mobility  the 
appellation  of  Roundheads,  on  account  of  the  short  cropt 
hair  which  they  wore ;  and  the  latter  retorted  by  calling 
them  Cavaliers.  Thus  the  nation,  already  sufficiently 
divided  by  religious  and  civil  disputes,  was  supplied  with 
party  names,  under  which  the  factious  might  rendezvous 
and  signalize  their  mutual  hatred. 

Williams,  archbishop  of  York,  having  been  abused  by 
the  populace,  hastily  called  a  meeting  of  his  brethren,  and 
prevailed  on  them  to  state,  in  an  address  to  the  king,  that 
though  they  had  an  undoubted  right  to  sit  in  parliament, 
they  could  r,o  longer  attend  with  safety,  and  therefore  pro- 
tested against  all  laws  which  should  be  made  during  their 
absence.  This  ill-timed  protestation  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity of  joy  and  triumph  to  the  eommons.  An  impeach- 
ment of  high-treason  was  immediately  sent  up  against  the 
bishops,  as  endeavouring  to  invalidate  the  authority  of  the 
legislature ;  and,  in  consequence,  they  were  sequestered 
from  parliament,  and  committed  to  custody. 

A  few  days  after,  Charles  was  betrayed  into  a  very  fatal 
act  of  indiscretion,  to  which  all  the  ensuing  disor- 

1642  ^ers  anc*  c*v**  wars  ou£nt  immediately  and  di- 
rectly be  ascribed.  Imputing  the  increasing  inso- 
lence of  the  commons  to  his  too  great  facility,  he  was  ad- 
vised to  exert  the  vigour  of  a  sovereign,  and  punish  the 
daring  usurpations  of  his  subjects.  Accordingly,  Herbert, 
attorney-general,  appeared  in  the  house  of  peers,  and,  in 
his  majesty's  name,  entered  an  accusation  of  high -treason 
against  lord  Kimbolton,  and  five  commoners,  Hollis,  Ha- 
selrig,  Hampden,  Pym,  and  Strode,  for  having  endeavour- 
ed to  subvert  the  fundamental  laws  and  government  of  the 
kingdom,  and  to  alienate  the  affections  of  the  people.  A 
sergeant-at-arms,  in  the  king's  name,  demanded  of  the 
house  the  five  members  ;  and  being  sent  back  without  any 
positive  answer,  Charles  resolved  next  day  to  go  in  person 
to  the  house,  and  see  his  orders  executed. 

The  members,  informed  of  the  design,  had  time  to  with- 
draw, a  moment  before  the  king  entered,  who,  leaving  his 
retinue  at  the  door,  advanced  alone  through  the  lobby ; 


CHARLES   I.  297 

and  the  speaker  withdrawing,  his  majesty  took  possession 
of  the  chair.  The  king  told  the  house,  that  he  must  have 
the  accused  persons  produced,  but  that  he  would  proceed 
against  them  in  a  fair  and  legal  way.  The  commons  were 
in  the  utmost  disorder ;  and  when  Charles  was  departing, 
some  members  cried  aloud,  "  privilege  !  privilege  !"  and 
the  house  immediately  adjourned  till  next  day. 

The  same  evening,  the  accused  members  removed  into 
the  city  ;  and  the  citizens  were  the  whole  night  under  arms. 
Next  morning,  Charles  ordered  the  lord-mayor  to  summon 
a  common  council,  which  he  attended  himself,  and  told 
them,  that  he  had  accused  certain  men  of  high  treason, 
against  whom  he  would  proceed  in  a  legal  way,  and  there- 
fore presumed  that  they  would  not  meet  with  protection 
in  the  city.  After  many  gracious  expressions,  he  left  the 
hall  without  receiving  the  applause  which  he  expected ; 
and,  in  passing  through  the  streets,  he  heard  the  cry  of 
H  privilege  of  parliament"  resounding  from  all  quarters. 

The  king,  apprehensive  of  personal  danger,  retired  to 
Hampton-court,  overwhelmed  with  grief,  shame,  and  re- 
morse. Fully  sensible  of  his  imprudence,  he  wished  to 
waive  all  thoughts  of  a  prosecution,  and  offered  any  repara- 
tion to  the  house  for  the  breach  of  privilege,  of  which,  he 
acknowledged,  they  had  reason  to  complain.  The  parlia- 
ment, however,  were  resolved  to  accept  of  no  satisfaction. 

Hitherto,  a  great  majority  of  the  lords  had  adhered  to 
the  king,  but  they  now  yielded  to  the  torrent ;  and  the 
pressing  bill,  with  its  preamble,  and  the  bill  against  bishops 
voting  in  parliament,  were  now  passed.  The  queen  pre- 
vailed with  Charles  to  give  his  assent  to  these  bills,  in  hopes 
of  appeasing  for  a  time  the  rage  of  the  people,  and  of  gain- 
ing for  her  an  opportunity  of  withdrawing  into  Holland. 

These  concessions,  however,  only  paved  the  way  for 
more  demands  ;  and  the  parliament  proceeded  with  hasty 
steps  to  monopolize  all  the  legislative  and  executive  power. 
That  his  consent  to  the  militia  bill  might  not  be  extorted 
by  violence,  the  king  retired  to  York,  attended  by  his  two 
sons.  Here  he  found  a  zeal  and  attachment  to  which  he 
had  not  been  lately  accustomed;  and  from  all  parts  of 
England,  the  chief  nobility  and  gentry  offered  their  alle- 
giance, and  exhorted  him  to  save  himself  and  them  from 
the  slavery  with  which  they  were  threatened. 

Each  party  now  wished  to  throw  on  the  other  the  odium 


296  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  commencing  a  civil  war ;  and  while  both  prepared  for 
an  event  which  they  deemed  inevitable,  the  war  of  the 
pen  preceded  that  of  the  sword,  and  daily  sharpened  the 
humours  of  the  opposite  parties.  Here  Charles  had  a 
double  advantage.  Not  only  his  cause  was  now  unques- 
tionably the  best ;  but  it  was  defended  by  lord  Falkland, 
who  had  accepted  the  office  of  secretary,  and  who  adorned 
the  purest  virtue  with  the  richest  gifts  of  nature,  and  the 
most  valuable  acquisitions  of  learning. 

It  was  evident,  however,  that  keener  weapons  than  ma- 
nifestoes, remonstrances,  and  declarations,  must  deter- 
mine the  dispute.  To  the  ordinance  of  the  parliament 
concerning  the  militia,  the  king  opposed  his  commissions 
of  array ;  and  the  counties  obeyed  the  one  or  the  other, 
according  as  they  stood  affected.  Hull  contained  a  large 
magazine  of  arms ;  and  it  being  suspected  that  sir  John 
Hotham,  the  governor,  was  not  much  inclined  to  the  par- 
liament, the  king  presented  himself  before  the  place,  in 
hopes  of  quietly  obtaining  possession  of  it.  The  governor, 
however,  shut  the  gates,  and  refused  to  admit  the  king 
with  only  twenty  attendants.  Charles  immediately  pro- 
claimed him  a  traitor ;  but  the  parliament  justified  and 
applauded  the  action. 

Both  sides  now  levied  troops  with  the  utmost  activity. 
The  parliamentary  army  was  given  to  the  earl  of  Essex, 
and  in  London  no  less  than  four  thousand  persons  enlisted 
in  it  in  one  day.  The  splendour  of  nobility,  however, 
with  which  the  king  was  surrounded,  much  eclipsed  the 
appearance  at  Westminster.  Lord-keeper  Littleton,  and 
above  forty  peers  of  the  first  rank,  attended  Charles ; 
while  the  house  of  lords  seldom  consisted  of  more  than  six- 
teen members.  The  parliament,  in  order  that  they  might 
reduce  the  king  to  despair  of  a  compromise,  sent  him  their 
demands  in  nineteen  propositions ;  but  they  appeared  so 
extravagant,  that  Charles  replied,  "  Should  I  grant  these 
demands,  I  may  be  waited  on  bare-headed;  the  title  of 
majesty  may  be  continued  to  me  ;  but  as  to  true  and  real 
power,  I  should  remain  but  the  outside,  but  the  picture, 
but  the  sign  of  a  king."  War  on  any  terms  seemed  to  the 
king  and  his  counsellors  preferable  to  such  ignominious 
conditions ;  and,  therefore,  collecting  some  forces,  he  ad- 
vanced southward,  and  at  Nottingham  erected  the  royal 
standard,  the  open  signal  of  civil  war. 


CHARLES   I.  299 

When  two  names  so  sacred  in  the  English  constitution 
as  those  of  King  and  Parliament  were  set  in  opposition, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  people,  divided  in  their  choice, 
were  agitated  with  the  most  violent  animosities  and  fac- 
tions. The  nobility  and  more  considerable  gentry,  dread- 
ing a  total  subversion  of  order,  generally  enlisted  them- 
selves in  defence  of  the  king ;  while  most  of  the  corpora- 
tions, as  being  republican  in  their  principles  of  government, 
took  part  with  the  parliament.  , 

Never  was  a  quarrel  more  unequal,  than  seemed  at  first 
that  between  the  contending  parties  ;  almost  every  advan- 
tage lay  on  the  side  of  the  parliament,  which  had  seized 
the  king's  revenues,  and  converted  the  supplies  to  their 
own  use,;  and  the  torrent  of  general  affection  ran  also  to 
the  parliament.  The  king's  adherents  were  stigmatized 
with  the  epithets  of  wicked  and  malignant ;  while  their 
adversaries  were  denominated  the  godly  and  well-affected. 

The  low  condition  in  which  the  king  appeared  at  Not- 
tingham, where  his  infantry,  besides  the  trained  bands  of 
the  county,  did  not  exceed  three  hundred,  and  his  cavalry 
eight  hundred,  confirmed  the  contempt  of  the  parliament. 
Their  forces,  stationed  at  Northampton,  consisted  of  above 
six  thousand  men,  well  armed  and  appointed ;  and  had 
these  troops  advanced  upon  the  king,  they  must  soon  have 
dissipated  the  small  force  which  Charles  had  assembled ; 
but  it  was  probably  hoped,  that  the  royalists,  sensible  of 
their  feeble  condition,  and  slender  resources,  would  dis- 
perse of  themselves,  and  leave  their  adversaries  a  blood- 
less victory. 

On  a  message  being  sent  by  Charles,  with  overtures  for 
an  accommodation,  the  parliament  demanded  as  a  preli- 
minary that  the  king  should  dismiss  his  forces,  and  give 
up  delinquents  to  their  justice  ;  and  both  parties  believed, 
that  by  this  message  and  reply,  the  people  would  be  ren- 
dered fully  sensible  of  the  intentions  of  each. 

In  the  mean  time,  Portsmouth,  which  had  declared  for 
the  king,  was  obliged  to  surrender  to  the  parliamentary  for- 
ces ;  and  the  marquis  of  Hertford,  whom  Charles  bad  ap- 
pointed general  of  the  western  counties,  and  had  drawn 
together  a  small  army,  being  attacked  by  a  considerable 
force  under  the  earl  of  Bedford,  was  obliged  to  pass  over 
into  Wales,  leaving  sir  Ralph  Hopton,  sir  John  Berkley, 


i 


300  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  others,  with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  horse,  to 
march  into  Cornwall. 

The  parliamentary  army,  amounting  to  fifteen  thousand 
men,  under  the  earl  of  Essex,  now  advanced  to  Northamp- 
ton ;  and  the  king  withdrew  to  Shrewsbury,  where  he  made 
a  public  declaration  of  his  resolution  to  maintain  the  esta- 
blished religion,  and  to  govern  in  future  by  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  kingdom.  While  he  lay  at  Shrewsbury,  he 
received  the  news  of  the  first  action  of  any  consequence, 
which  had  yet  taken  place,  and  in  which  he  was  successful. 

On  the  appearance  of  civil  commotions  in  England,  the 
princes  Rupert  and  Maurice,  sons  of  the  unfortunate  pala- 
tine, and  nephews  of  Charles,  had  offered  their  services 
to  the  king ;  and  the  former,  at  that  time,  commanded  a 
body  of  horse,  which  had  been  sent  to  Worcester,  in  order 
to  watch  the  motions  of  Essex,  who  was  marching  towards 
that  city.  A  detached  party,  under  colonel  Sandys,  was 
completely  routed,  and  their  leader  killed  ;  and  this  action 
acquired  to  prince  Rupert  that  character  for  promptitude 
and  courage,  which  he  eminently  displayed  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  war. 

The  king,  now  mustering  his  army,  found  it  to  amount 
to  ten  thousand  men.  The  earl  of  Lindsey  was  general, 
prince  Rupert  commanded  the  horse,  sir  Jacob  Astley  the 
foot,  and  lord  Bernard  Stewart  was  at  the  head  of  a  troop 
of  guards,  whose  estates  and  revenue,  according  to  lord 
Clarendon,  were  at  least  equal  to  those  of  all  the  mem- 
bers, who,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  voted  in  both 
houses. 

With  this  army  the  king  left  Shrewsbury,  resolved  to 
bring  on  an  action  as  soon  as  possible.  The  royal  army 
arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Banbury,  while  that  of 
the  parliament  was  at  Reinton,  only  a  few  miles  distant. 
Both  parties  advancing,  they  met  at  Edge-hill,  and  fought 
with  various  success.  The  cavalry  and  the  right  wing  of 
the  parliament  army  were  defeated  ;  but  sir  William  Bal- 
four, who  commanded  the  reserve  of  Essex,  perceiving  the 
enemy  in  disorder,  and  busied  in  plundering,  attacked  the 
king's  infantry,  and  made  a  dreadful  havoc.  The  earl  of 
Lindsey  was  mortally  wounded,  and  taken  prisoner ;  and 
sir  Edmund  Verney,  the  king's  standard  bearer,  was  kill- 
ed. The  two  armies  gradually  recovered  their  ranks,  but 
neither  of  them  had  courage  for  a  new  attack.    The  eail 


CHARLES   I.  301 

of  Essex  retired  to  Warwick,  and  Charles  continued  his 
march  to  Oxford,  the  only  town  at  his  devotion.  * 

After  the  royal  army  had  been  refreshed  and  recruited, 
the  king  advanced  to  Reading,  from  which,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  body  of  horse,  the  governor  and  garrison  being 
seized  with  a  panic,  fled  precipitately  to  London.  The 
parliament,  who  had  expected  a  bloodless  victory  over 
Charles,  were  now  alarmed  at  the  near  approach  of  the 
royal  army,  and  voted  an  address  for  a  treaty.  The  king 
named  Windsor  as  the  place  of  conference ;  but  Essex 
having  arrived  at  London,  Charles  attacked  two  regiments 
quartered  at  Brentford,  beat  them  from  that  village,  and 
took  about  five  hundred  prisoners.  Loud  complaints  were 
raised  against  this  attack,  pending  a  negotiation  ;  and  the 
city,  inflamed  with  resentment,  joined  its  trained  bands  to 
the  parliamentary  army,  which,  by  that  means,  was  ren- 
dered much  superior  to  that  of  the  king,  who,  in  conse- 
quence, judged  it  prudent  to  retire  to  Reading,  and  from 
thence  to  Oxford. 

The  conferences  between  the  king  and  parliament  had 
commenced  without  any  cessation  of  hostilities ;  and  it 
was  soon  found,  that  there  was  no  probability  of 
coming  to  an  agreement.     The  earl  of  Essex  laid  |  U.A 
siege  to  Reading ;  and  Fielding,  the  governor,  con- 
sented to  yield  the  town,  on  condition  that  he  should  bring 
off  the  garrison,  and  deliver  up  deserters.     For  this  last 
article,  so  ignominious  in  itself,  and  so  prejudicial  to  the 
king's  interests,  the  governor  was  tried  by  a  council  of 
war,  and  condemned  to  lose  his  life,  but  the  sentence  was 
afterwards  remitted. 

In  the  north,  lord  Fairfax  commanded  for  the  parlia- 
ment, and  the  earl  of  Newcastle  for  the  king.  The  latter 
united  in  a  league  for  the  king,  the  counties  of  Northum- 
berland, Cumberland,  Westmoreland,  and  Durham,  and 
afterwards  engaged  some  other  counties  in  the  association. 
Finding  that  Fairfax  was  making  some  progress  in  York- 
shire, he  advanced  with  a  body  of  four  thousand  men,  and 
took  possession  of  York ;  and  at  Tadcaster  he  attacked 
the  forces  of  the  parliament,  and  dislodged  them  ;  but  his 
victoiy  was  not  decisive. 

Sir  William  Waller  began  to  distinguish  himself  as  a 
parliamentary  general.      After   taking   Winchester  and 
Chichester,  he  defeated  lord  Herbert,  who  had  laid  siege 
26 


3Q2  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

to  Gloucester,  with  a  considerable  body  of  forces  levied  in 
Wales. 

In  the  west,  sir  Bevil  Granville,  sir  Ralph  Hopton,  sir 
Nicholas  Slanning,  Arundel,  and  Trevannion,  had,  at  their 
own  charges,  raised  an  army  for  the  king,  and  successively 
defeated  the  parliamentary  generals,  Ruthven  and  lord 
Stamford,  on  Bradoc  Down,  and  at  Stratton.  After  this 
success,  the  attention  of  both  king  and  parliament  was 
directed  to  the  west ;  and  the  marquis  of  Hertford  and 
prince  Maurice  having  joined  the  Cornish  army,  over-ran 
the  county  of  Devon,  and  threatened  that  of  Somerset. 
Waller  advanced  with  a  considerable  force  to  check  their 
progress ;  and  the  two  armies  met  at  Lansdown,  near 
Bath,  and  fought  a  pitched  battle,  but  without  any  deci- 
sive event.  The  gallant  Granville,  however,  was  killed  in 
the  action,  and  Hopton  was  dangerously  wounded  The 
royalists  next  attempted  to  march  eastwards,  and  join  the 
king's  forces  at  Oxford  ;  but  Waller  hanging  on  their  rear, 
a  battle  took  place  at  Roundway-down,  near  Devizes,  in 
which  the  parliamentary  army  was  entirely  routed  and  dis- 
persed. This  important  victory  struck  the  parliament 
with  dismay,  which  was  increased  by  the  death  of  the 
celebrated  Hampden,  who  fell  in  a  skirmish  at  Chalgrove, 
in  Oxfordshire.  Many  were  the  virtues  and  talents  of  this 
eminent  man,  whose  valour  in  war  equalled  his  eloquence 
in  the  senate,  and  his  resolution  at  the  bar ;  and  Charles 
valued  him  so  highly,  that  when  he  heard  of  his  being 
wounded,  he  offered  to  send  his  own  surgeon  to  attend  him. 

Essex,  discouraged  by  this  event,  retired  towards  Lon- 
don ;  and  the  king,  freed  from  the  enemy,  sent  his  army 
westward,  under  prince  Rupert,  who  besieged  and  took 
the  city  of  Bristol.  Charles  joined  the  camp  at  Bristol; 
and  some  strongly  urged  him  to  march  directly  to  London, 
where  all  was  confusion  and  dismay,  as  the  most  likely 
means  of  rendering  the  royal  cause  successful  over  its  ad- 
versaries ;  but  the  resolution  of  investing  the  city  of  Glou- 
cester was  fatally  adopted.  - 

In  the  beginning  of  the  summer,  a  combination  had 
been  formed,  by  Edmund  Waller,  the  poet,  a  member  of 
the  lower  house,  to  oblige  the  parliament  to  accept  of  rea- 
sonable conditions,  and  to  restore  peace  to  the  nation. 
For  the  execution  of  this  project,  he  associated  with  him 
Tomkins,  his  brother-in-law,  and  Chaloner,  the  friend  of 


CHARLES   I.  303 

Tomkins,  whose  influence  in  the  city  was  considerable  5 
but  intelligence  of  the  design  being  conveyed  to  Pym,  they 
were  tried  and  condemned  by  a  court  martial ;  and  Tom- 
kins  and  Chaloner  were  executed.  Waller,  with  much  dif- 
ficulty, escaped,  on  paying  a  fine  of  ten  thousand  pounds. 

After  relieving  Gloucester,  besieged  by  the  king,  Essex 
proceeded  towards  London ;  but  when  he  reached  New- 
bury, he  found  that  the  royal  army  already  occupied  the 
place,  and  that  an  action  was  unavoidable.  On  both  sides, 
the  battle  was  fought  with  desperate  valour ;  but  night  put 
an  end  to  the  action,  and  left  the  victory  undecided.  Es- 
sex continued  to  march  to  London ;  and  the  king  follow- 
ing, retook  Reading,  in  which  he  placed  a  garrison.  In 
the  battle  of  Newbury,  fell  Lucius  Carey,  viscount  Falk- 
land, secretary  to  the  king ;  a  man  eminent  for  his  abili- 
ties, and  for  every  virtue  which  adorns  humanity.  On  the 
morning  of  the  day  on  which  he  met  his  fate,  he  had  shown 
more  than  usual  care  in  dressing  himself,  and  gave  for  a 
reason,  that  the  enemy  might  not  find  his  body  in  any  slo- 
venly indecent  situation.  "  I  am  weary,"  he  subjoined, 
"  of  the  times,  and  foresee  much  misery  to  my  country ; 
but  believe  I  shall  be  out  of  it  ere  night."  He  was  only 
thirty-four  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  the  north,  the  influence  and  popularity  of  the  earl, 
now  created  marquis  of  Newcastle,  had  raised  a  consider- 
able force  for  the  king ;  but  he  was  opposed  by  two  men, 
on  whom  the  event  of  the  war  finally  depended,  and  who 
began  about  this  time  to  be  distinguished  for  their  va- 
lour and  military  conduct.  These  were  sir  Thomas  Fair- 
fax, son  of  the  lord  of  that  name,  and  Oliver  Cromwell. 
The  former  gained  a  considerable  victory  at  Wakefield, 
and  the  latter  at  Gainsborough;  but  these  defeats  of 
the  royalists  were  more  than  compensated  by  the  total 
defeat  of  lord  Fairfax,  at  Atherston  Moor.  After  this  vic- 
tory, Newcastle  sat  down  with  his  army  before  Hull ;  but 
Hotham,  the  former  governor,  having  expressed  an  inten- 
tion to  favour  the  king's  interest,  had  some  time  before 
been  sent  to  London,  where  he  and  his  son  fell  victims  to 
the  severity  of  the  parliament. 

Newcastle  suffered  so  much  by  a  sally  of  the  garrison, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege ;  and  about  the  same 
time,  Manchester  having  joined  Cromwell  and  young  Fair- 
fax, obtained  a  considerable  victory  over  the  royalists  at 


304  HISTORY   OP  ENGLAND. 

Horncastle.  Thus  fortune  seemed  to  balance  her  favours : 
but  the  king's  party  still  remained  much  superior  in  the 
north ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  garrison  of  Hull,  which 
awed  Yorkshire,  a  conjunction  of  the  northern  forces  with 
the  army  of  the  south  had  probably  enabled  Charles  to 
march  directly  to  London,  and  finish  the  war,  instead  of 
wasting  both  his  time  and  resources  in  the  siege  of  Glou- 
cester. 

As  the  event  became  more  doubtful,  both  parties  sought 
for  assistance  ;  the  parliament  in  Scotland,  and  the  king  in 
Ireland.  The  former  easily  prevailed  on  the  Scottish  co- 
venanters to  espouse  their  cause,  by  joining  in  a  solemn 
league  and  covenant,  mutually  to  defend  each  other 
against  all  opponents,  and  to  promote  their  respective  aims 
and  designs ;  and  Charles,  having  agreed  to  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  in  Ireland,  where  the  English  had  regained 
the  ascendancy,  procured  considerable  bodies  of  troops 
from  that  kingdom. 

The  king,  that  he  might  make  preparations  for  the  en- 
suing campaign,  endeavoured  to  avail  himself  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  parliament,  and  summoned  to  Oxford 
lfidd  a^  tne  J*161"061"8  °f  either  house  who  adhered  to  his 
interest.  A  great  majority  of  the  peers  attended 
him ;  but  the  commons  were  not  half  so  numerous  as  those 
who  sat  at  Westminster.  The  parliament  at  Westminster 
having  voted  an  excise  on  beer,  wine,  and  other  commo- 
dities, those  at  Oxford  imitated  the  example,  and  conferred 
that  revenue  on  the  king ;  and  this  was  the  first  introduc- 
tion of  an  excise  into  England. 

The  same  winter  the  famous  Pym  died ;  a  man  as  much 
hated  by  one  party  as  respected  by  the  other.  However, 
he  had  been  little  studious  of  improving  his  private  for- 
tune ;  and  the  parliament,  out  of  gratitude,  discharged 
the  debts  which  he  had  contracted. 

The  forces  from  Ireland,  under  the  command  of  lord 
Biron,  after  obtaining  considerable  advantages  in  Cheshire, 
invested  Nantwich,  but  were  completely  defeated  by  six 
Thomas  Fairfax,  who,  in  the  sequel,  routed  a  large  body 
of  troops  at  Selby.  Leven,  the  Scotch  commander,  having 
joined  lord  Fairfax,  they  sat  down  before  York,  to  which 
the  army  of  the  royalists  had  retired.  Hopeton  was  de- 
feated by  Waller  at  Cherrington  ;  but  prince  Rupert  relie- 
ved Newark,  which  the  parliamentary  forces  had  besieged. 


CHARLES    t.  305 

The  earl  of  Manchester  having  taken  Lincoln,  united 
iiis  army  to  that  of  Leven  and  Fairfax ;  and  York,  though 
vigorously  defended  by  Newcastle,  was  reduced  to  the  last 
extremity,  when  the  besiegers  were  alarmed  by  the  ap- 
proach of  prince  Rupert,  at  the  head  of  twenty  thousand 
men.  The  Scottish  and  parliamentary  generals  drew  up 
on  Marston  Moor  to  give  battle  to  the  royalists;  and 
Newcastle  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  prince  to  wait, 
and  leave  the  enemy  to  dissolve  by  their  growing  dissen- 
tions  ;  but  Rupert,  whose  martial  disposition  was  not  suf- 
ficiently tempered  with  prudence,  rejected  the  advice,  and 
led  on  his  troops  to  the  charge.  This  action  was  obsti- 
nately disputed,  and  fought  with  various  success ;  but  after 
the  utmost  efforts  of  courage  by  both  parties,  victory  whol- 
ly turned  on  the  side  of  the  parliament.  The  prince's 
train  of  artillery  was  taken,  and  his  whole  army  pushed  off 
the  field  of  battle. 

This  engagement,  in  which  Cromwell  manifested  great 
courage  and  abilities,  proved  very  fatal  to  the  king's  inte- 
rest. Newcastle,  disgusted  at  the  treatment  which  he  had 
received  from  the  prince,  and  enraged  that  all  his  success- 
ful labours  should  be  rendered  abortive  by  one  act  of  te- 
merity, determined  to  leave  the  kingdom.  He  retired  to 
the  continent,  where  he  lived  till  the  restoration,  in  great 
necessity,  and  saw  with  indifference  his  opulent  fortune  se- 
questered by  those  who  assumed  the  reins  of  government. 

Prince  Rupert  drew  off  the  remains  of  his  army,  and 
retired  into  Lancashire  ;  and  York  surrendered  to  Fairfax, 
while  Newcastle  was  taken  by  storm. 

Ruthven,  a  Scotsman,  who  had  been  created  earl  of 
Brentford,  managed  the  king's  affairs  in  the  south  with 
more  success.  Essex  and  Waller  marched  with  their 
combined  armies  towards  Oxford ;  and  the  king,  leaving 
a  numerous  garrison  in  that  eity,  dexterously  passed  be- 
tween the  two  armies,  and  marched  towards  Worcester. 
Waller  received  orders  from  Essex  to  follow  bim,  while  he 
himself  proceeded  westward  in  quest  of  prince  Maurice. 
Waller  had  approaTmed  within  two  miles  of  the  royal 
camp,  when  he  received  intelligence  that  the  king  had  di- 
rected his  course  towards  Shrewsbury ;  and  the  parlia- 
mentary general  hastened  by  quick  marches  to  that  town ; 
but  Charles  suddenly  retraced  his  former  steps,  and  ha- 
ving reinforced  his  army,  in  his  turn  marched  out  in  quest 
26* 


306  niSTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

of  Waller.  At  Crupredy-bridge,  near  Banbury,  the  two 
armies  faced  each  other,  with  only  the  Cherwell  running 
between  them.  Waller,  attempting  to  pass  the  bridge, 
was  repulsed ;  and  his  army,  disheartened  by  this  unex- 
pected defeat,  began  to  melt  away  by  desertion.  The  king 
thought  he  might  safely  leave  it,  and  marched  westward 
against  Essex ;  and  having  cooped  him  up  in  a  narrow 
corner  at  Lestithiel,  reduced  him  to  the  last  extremity. 
Essex,  Robarts,  and  some  of  the  principal  officers,  esca- 
ped in  a  boat  to  Plymouth.  Balfour,  with  his  horse, 
passed  the  king's  post  in  a  thick  mist ;  but  the  foot  under 
Skippon  were  obliged  to  surrender. 

That  the  king  might  have  less  reason  to  exult  in  this  ad- 
vantage, the  parliament  opposed  to  him  very  numerous  for- 
ces under  Manchester,  Cromwell,  and  Waller.  Charles 
chose  his  post  at  Newbury,  where  the  parliamentay  armies 
attacked  him  with  great  vigour ;  and  though  the  king's 
troops  defended  themselves  with  valour,  they  were  over- 
powered by  numbers,  and  night  only  saved  them  from  a 
total  defeat,  and  enabled  them  to  reach  Oxford. 

The  discordant  opinions  which  had  arisen  among  the 
parliamentary  generals  in  the  field,  were  now  transferred 
to  the  senate.  The  independents  now  appeared  a  distinct 
body  from  the  presbyterians,  and  betrayed  very  different 
views  and  pretensions.  Vane,  Cromwell,  Fiennes,  and 
St.  John,  were  regarded  as  the  leaders  of  the  former ;  but 
as  a  great  majority  in  the  nation  were  attached  to  the 
presbyterians,  it  was  only  by  cunning  and  deceit  at  first, 
and  afterwards  by  military  violence,  that  the  independents 
could  entertain  any  hopes  of  success. 

The  parliament  having  passed  a  self-denying  ordinance, 
by  which  the  members  of  both  houses  were  excluded  from 
all  civil  and  military  employments,  Essex,  Manchester, 
and  others,  resigned  their  commands. 

It  was  agreed  to  recruit  the  army  to  twenty-two  thou- 
sand men,  and  sir  Thomas  Fairfax  was  appointed 
1  fr\k  &eneral '  a  man  eminent  for  his  courage  and  hu- 
manity, but  of  little  genius  except  in  war.  Crom- 
well, being  a  member  of  the  lower  house,  should  have  been 
discarded  with  the  rest ;  but  he  was  saved  by  that  politi- 
cal craft  in  which  he  was  so  eminent.  By  an  artifice, 
which  was,  doubtless,  concerted  between  them,  Fairfax 
requested  that  he  might  be  favoured  with  the  advice  and 


CHARLES    I.  307 

assistance  of  Cromwell,  for  another  campaign ;  and  thus 
the  independents  prevailed  by  art  and  cunning,  and  be- 
stowed the  whole  military  authority  apparently  on  Fairfax, 
but  in  reality  on  Cromwell.  The  former  was  entirely  go- 
verned by  the  genius  and  sagacity  of  the  latter,  whose 
strokes  of  character  were  only  developed  by  the  events  in 
which  he  was  concerned.  His  extensive  capacity  enabled 
him  to  form  the  most  enlarged  projects,  and  his  enterpri- 
sing genius  was  not  dismayed  by  the  boldest  and  most 
dangerous.  By  the  most  profound  dissimulation,  the  most 
oblique  and  refined  artifice,  and  the  semblance  of  the 
greatest  moderation  and  simplicity,  he  concealed  an  am- 
bitious and  imperious  mind,  which  ultimately  led  him  to 
the  summit  of  power. 

Negotiations  for  peace  were  once  more  renewed,  though 
with  small  hopes  of  success.  Commissioners  on  both 
sides  met  at  Uxbridge  ;  but  it  was  soon  found  impractica- 
ble to  come  to  any  amicable  adjustment  on  the  important 
articles  of  religion,  the  militia,  and  Ireland.  Charles  re- 
fused to  abolish  episcopacy  ;  and  the  parliament  expected 
that  the  power  of  the  sword,  and  the  sovereignty  of  Ire- 
land, should  remain  in  their  hands. 

A  short  time  before  the  commencement  of  this  treaty, 
archbishop  Laud,  after  undergoing  a  long  imprisonment, 
was  brought  to  his  trial  for  high  treason,  in  endeavouring 
to  subvert  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom.  After  a 
long  trial,  the  commons,  unable  to  obtain  a  judicial  sen- 
tence, passed  an  ordinance  for  taking  away  the  life  of  this 
aged  prelate,  who  sunk  not  under  the  horrors  of  his  exe- 
cution. "  No  one,"  said  he,  "  can  be  more  willing  to  send 
me  out  of  life,  than  I  am  to  go."  His  head  was  severed 
from  his  body  at  one  blow,  which  removed  him  to  a  better 
world. 

While  the  king's  affairs  declined  in  England,  some  events 
took  place  in  Scotland  which  seemed  to  promise  a  more 
prosperous  issue  in  that  kingdom.  The  young  earl  of 
Montrose,  being  introduced  to  his  majesty,  was  so  won  by 
the  civilities  and  caresses  of  the  king,  that  though  he  had 
been  employed  in  the  first  Scottish  insurrection,  he  devoted 
himself  from  that  time  entirely  to  the  service  of  Charles. 
Montrose,  not  discouraged  by  the  defeat  at  Marston  Moor, 
having  obtained  from  the  earl  of  Antrim,  a  nobleman  of 
Ireland,  a  supply  of  eleven  hundred  men  from  that  coun- 


308  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

try,  immediately  declared  himself,  and  entered  on  the  ca- 
reer which  has  rendered  his  name  immortal.  Several 
hundreds  of  his  countrymen  soon  flocked  to  his  standard ; 
and,  with  this  small  force,  he  hastened  to  attack  lord  El- 
cho,  who  lay  at  Perth,  with  an  army  of  six  thousand  men. 
Having  received  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  which  was  chiefly 
answered  by  a  volley  of  stones,  for  want  of  arms  and  am- 
munition, he  rushed  among  them,  sword  in  hand,  and 
throwing  them  into  confusion,  obtained  a  complete  victory, 
with  the  slaughter  of  two  thousand  covenanters.  Though 
the  majority  of  the  kingdom  was  attached  to  the  covenant, 
yet  the  enterprises  of  Montrose  were  attended  with  the  most 
brilliant  success ;  and,  after  prevailing  in  many  battles, 
prepared  himself  for  marching  into  the  southern  provinces, 
in  order  to  put  a  final  period  to  the  power  of  the  co- 
venanters. 

While  the  flame  of  war  was  thus  rekindled  in  the  north, 
it  blazed  out  with  no  less  fury  in  the  south.  Fairfax,  or 
rather  Cromwell,  had  new  modelled  the  parliamentary 
army.  Regimental  chaplains  were  in  a  great  measure  set 
aside  ;  and  the  officers  assuming  the  spiritual  duty,  united 
it  with  their  military  functions,  and  during  the  intervals  of 
action,  occupied  themselves  in  sermons,  prayers,  and  ex- 
hortations. The  private  soldiers,  seized  with  the  same 
fanaticism,  mutually  stimulated  each  other  to  farther  ad- 
vances in  grace  ;  and  when  they  were  marching  to  battle, 
the  whole  field  resounded  as  well  with  psalms  and  spiritual 
songs  as  with  the  instruments  of  military  music. 

At  Nesby  was  fought,  with  nearly  equal  forces,  a  deci- 
sive and  well  disputed  action  between  the  king  and  the 
parliament.  Charles  led  on  his  main  body,  and  displayed 
in  this  action  all  the  conduct  of  a  prudent  general,  and  all 
the  valour  of  a  stout  soldier.  Fairfax  and  Skippon  en- 
countered him,  and  well  supported  the  reputation  which 
they  had  previously  acquired.  Cromwell  also,  by  his  pru- 
dence and  valour,  very  materially  contributed  to  turn  the 
fortune  of  the  day.  The  royal  infantry  was  totally  dis- 
comfited, and  Charles  was  obliged  to  quit  the  field,  and 
leave  the  victory  to  the  enemy.  The  slain  on  the  side  of 
the  parliament,  however,  exceeded  those  of  the  king ;  but 
Fairfax  made  five  hundred  officers  prisoners,  and  four 
thousand  private  men,  and  took  all  the  king's  artillery 
and  ammunition. 


CHARLES   I.  309 

The  affairs  of  the  royalists  now  declined  in  all  quarters. 
Charles  escaped  to  Oxford,  where  he  shut  himself 
up  with  the  broken  remains  of  his  army.     The  *\.A 
prince  of  Wales  retired  to  France,  where  he  joined 
the  queen ;  the  west  submitted  to  the  arms  of  Fairfax  and 
Cromwell ;  and  the  defeat  of  Montrose  at  Philip-haugh, 
after  a  series  of  splendid  actions,  seemed  to  seal  the  final 
destiny  of  the  king's  party. 

The  only  resource  which  remained  to  Charles,  was  de- 
rived from  the  intestine  dissentions  of  his  enemies.  The 
presbyterians  and  independents  fell  into  contests  concern- 
ing the  division  of  the  spoil ;  and  their  religious  and  civil 
disputes  agitated  the  whole  nation.  In  the  mean  time, 
Fairfax,  with  a  victorious  army,  approached  to  lay  siege  to 
Oxford,  which  must  infallibly  surrender.  In  this  despe- 
rate extremity,  the  king  embraced  a  measure,  which  had 
been  suggested  by  Montreville,  the  French  ambassador,  of 
seeking  the  protection  of  the  Scottish  army,  which  at  that 
time  lay  before  Newark. 

The  Scottish  generals  and  commissioners  affected  great 
surprise  on  the  appearance  of  the  king ;  and  the  parlia- 
ment, hearing  of  his  escape  from  Oxford,  threatened  instant 
death  to  whosoever  should  harbour  or  conceal  him.  The 
Scots,  therefore,  in  order  to  justify  themselves,  assured 
the  parliament,  that  they  had  entered  into  private  under- 
standing with  his  majesty.  After  keeping  the  king  a  pri- 
soner for  some  time,  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  the  agents 
in  this  shameful  business,  they  agreed  to  surrender  him  to 
the  parliament  for  400,000  pounds,  half  of  which  wa*  fa 
be  paid  instantly  ;  and  thus  the  Scottish  nation  have  b( 
stained  with  the  infamy  of  selling  their  king,  and  betra 
ing  their  prince  for  money.   * 

When  intelligence  of  the  final  resolution  of  the  Scots  t<» 
surrender  him  was  brought  to  Charles,  he  was  playing  at 
chess ;  and  so  little  was  he  affected  by  the  news,  that  he 
continued  his  game  without  interruption,  or  any  appear- 
ance of  discomposure.  The  king,  being  delivered  by  the 
Scots  to  the  English  commissioners,  was  conducted  to 
Holdenby,  in  the  county  of  Northampton,  where  his  an- 
cient servants  were  dismissed,  and  all  communication  with 
his  friends  or  family  was  prohibited. 

About  this  time  died  the  earl  of  Essex,  who,  sensible  of 
the  excesses  to  which  affairs  had  been  carried,  had  resol- 


310  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

Ved  to  conciliate  a  peace,  and  to  remedy,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, all  those  ills  to  which,  from  mistake  rather  than  any 
bad  intentions,  he  had  himself  so  much  contributed.  His 
death,  therefore,  at  this  conjuncture,  was  a  public  misfor- 
tune. 

The  dominion  of  the  parliament,  however,  was  of  short 
duration.  The  presbyterians  retained  the  superiority 
among  the  Commons,  but  the  independents  predominated 
in  the  army.  Some  evident  symptoms  of  disaffection  ha- 
ving appeared  among  the  soldiers,  the  parliament'  sent 
Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Fleetwood,  to  the  army,  to  inquire 
into  the  cause  of  the  disorders.  These  men  were  the  se- 
cret authors  of  the  discontents,  which,  while  they  pretended 
to  appease  them,  they  failed  not  to  foment. 

In  opposition  to  the  parliament  at  Westminster,  a  mili- 
tafry  parliament  was  formed,  together  with  a  council  of  the 
principal  officers,  on  the  model  of  the  house  of  peers ;  and 
representatives  of  the  army  were  composed,  by  the  election 
of  two  private  men  or  inferior  officers,  under  the  title  ofl 
agitators,  from  each  troop  or  company.  This  court  de-l 
clared  that  they  found  only  grievances  in  the  army,  and 
voted  the  conduct  of  parliament  unsatisfactory ;  and,  fore- 
seeing the  result  of  matters,  they  took  care  to  strike  a 
blow,  which  at  once  decided  the  victory  in  their  favour. 

A  party  of  five  hundred  horse  appeared  at  Holdenby, 
under  the  command  of  cornet  Joice,  who  had  once  been  a 
tailor,  but  was  now  an  active  agitator  in  the  army.  Joice 
came  into  the  king's  presence,  armed  with  pistols,  and  told 
him  he  must  immediately  go  along  with  him.  "  Whither?" 
said  his  majesty.  "  To  the  army,"  replied  Joice.  "  By 
what  warrant?"  asked  the  king.  Joice  pointed  to  the  sol- 
diers, who  were  tall,  handsome,  and  well  accoutred.  "  Your 
warrant,"  said  Charles,  smiling,  "  is  writ  in  fair  charac- 
ters, legible  without  spelling."  Resistance  was  of  course 
vain;  and  the  king,  stepping  into  his  coach,  was  safely 
conducted  to  the  army,  which  was  hastening  to  its  rendez- 
vous at  Triplo-heath,  near  Cambridge. 

Fairfax  himself  was  ignorant  of  this  manoeuvre ;  and  it 
was  not  till  the  arrival  of  Cromwell,  who  had  deceived  the 
parliament  by  his  profound  dissimulation  and  consummate 
hypocrisy,  that  the  intrigue  was  developed.  On  his  arrival 
in  the  camp,  he  was  received  with  loud  acclamations, 
was  instantly  invested  with  the  supreme  command. 


,  and 


CHARLES   I.  311 

The  parliament,  though  at  present  defenceless,  possessed 
many  resources ;  and,  therefore,  Cromwell  advanced  upon 
them  with  the  army,  and  arrived  in  a  few  days  at  St.  Al- 
ban's.  The  parliament,  conscious  of  their  want  of  popu- 
larity, were  reduced  to  despair ;  and  the  army,  hbping  by 
terror  alone  to  effect  all  their  purposes,  halted  at  St.  Al- 
ban's,  and  entered  into  negotiation  with  their  masters. 

The  army,  in  their  usurpations  on  the  parliament,  copied 
exactly  the  model  which  the  parliament  itself  had  set  them 
in  their  recent  usurpations  on  the  crown.  Every  day  they 
rose  in  their  demands;  and  one  concession  only  paved 
the  way  to  another  still  more  exorbitant.  At  last,  there 
being  no  signs  of  resistance,  in  order  to  save  appearances, 
they  removed,  at  the  desire  of  the  parliament,  to  a  greater 
distance  from  London,  and  fixed  their  head-quarters  at 
Reading. 

Charles  was  carried  with  them  in  all  their  marches,  and 
found  himself  much  more  formidable  than  at  Holdenby. 
AH  his  friends  had  access  to  him ;  and  his  children  were 
once  allowed  to  visit  him,  and  they  passed  a  few  days  at 
Caversham,  where  he  resided.  Cromwell,  as  well  as  the 
leaders  of  all  factions,  paid  court  to  him ;  and  so  confident 
was  the  king,  that  all  parties  would  at  length  have  recourse 
to  his  lawful  authority,  that  on  several  occasions  he  ob- 
served, "You  cannot  be  without  me ;  you  cannot  settle  the 
nation,  but  by  my  assistance." 

Charles,  however,  though  he  wished  to  hold  the  balance 
between  the  opposite  parties,  entertained  more  hopes  of 
an  accommodation  with  the  army,  and  made  the  most  splen- 
did offers  to  Ireton  and  Cromwell.  The  latter  pretended 
to  listen  to  his  proposals  ;  but,  it  is  probable,  that  he  had 
conceived  the  design  of  seizing  the  sceptre.  While  Crom- 
well, however,  allured  the  king  with  the  hopes  of  an  ac- 
commodation, he  systematically  pursued  his  plan  of  hum- 
bling the  parliament.  A  petition  against  some  laws  was 
presented  at  Westminister,  by  the  apprentices  and  seditious 
■multitude ;  and  the  house  was  obliged  to  reverse  its  votes. 
Intelligence  of  this  tumult  being  conveyed  to  Reading,  the 
army,  under  pretence  of  restoring  liberty  to  that  assembly, 
marched  to  Hounslow,  where  the  speakers  of  the  two  hou- 
ses, Manchester  and  Lanthal,  having  secretly  retired  by 
collusion,  presented  themselves  with  their  maces,  and  all 
the  ensigns  of  their  dignity,  and  complained  of  the  violence 


312       s  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

put  upon  them.  The  two  speakers  were  received  with  ac- 
clamations, and  conducted  by  a  military  force  to  West- 
minster ;  and  every  act  which  had  passed  in  their  absence 
was  annulled,  and  the  parliament  reduced  to  a  regularly 
formed  servitude. 

The  leaders  of  the  army,  having  now  established  their 
dominion  over  the  city  and  parliament,  ventured  to  bring 
the  king  to  Hampton  Court ;  but  intelligence  being  daily 
brought  him  of  menaces  thrown  out  by  the  agitators,  and 
his  guards  being  doubled  with  the  view  of  rendering  him 
uneasy  in  his  present  situation,  Charles  adopted  the  sud- 
den and  impolitic  resolution  of  withdrawing  himself;  and 
attended  only  by  Sir  John  Berkley,  Ashburnham,  and 
Legge,  he  privately  left  Hampton  Court,  and  arrived  next 
day  at  Tichfield.  Sensible,  however,  that  he  could  not 
long  remain  concealed  there,  he  imprudently  put  himself 
into  the  hands  of  Hammond,  governor  of  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
a  man  entirely  dependent  on  Cromwell,  by  whom  he  was 
carried  to  Carisbroke  castle,  and  confined  a  prisoner, 
though  treated  with  the  externals  of  duty  and  respect. 

Cromwell,  now  freed  from  all  anxiety  in  regard  to  the 
custody  of  the  king's  person,  and  being  superior  to  the  par- 
liament, applied  himself  seriously  to  quell  those  disorders 
in  the  army  which  he  himself  had  raised.  He  issued  or- 
ders for  discontinuing  the  meetings  of  the  agitators  ;  but 
these  levellers,  as  they  were  called,  joined  in  seditious  re- 
monstrances and  petitions ;  and  Cromwell,  at  the  time  of 
a  review,  seizing  the  ringleaders  before  their  companions, 
caused  one  mutineer  instantly  to  be  shot,  and  struck  such 
terror  into  the  rest,  that  they  quietly  returned  to  discipline 
and  duty.  ♦ 

Cromwell  paid  great  deference  to  the  counsels  of  Ireton, 
a  man  who  had  grafted  the  soldier  on  the  lawyer,  and  the 
statesman  on  the  saint ;  and  by  his  suggestion,  he  secretly 
called  a  council  of  the  chief  officers  at  Windsor,  where  was 
first  opened  the  daring  design  of  bringing  the  king  to  con- 
dign punishment  for  mal-administration.  This  measure 
being  resolved  on,  it  was  requisite  gradually  to  conduct  the 
parliament  from  one  violence  to  another,  till  this  last  act 
of  atrocious  iniquity  should  appear  inevitable.  At  the  in- 
stigation of  the  independents  and  army,  that  assembly 
framed  four  proposals,  to  which  they  demanded  the  king's 
positive  assent,  before  they  would  deign  to  treat.    The  first 


CHARLES   I.  ri 

was,  that  he  should  invest  the  parliament  with  the  military 
power  for  twenty  years ;  the  second,  that  lie  should  recal 
all  his  proclamations  and  declarations  against  the  parlia- 
ment, and  acknowledge  that  assembly  to  have  taken  arms 
in  their  just  and  necessary  defence ;  the  third,  that  he 
should  annul  all  the  acts,  and  void  all  the  patents  of  peer- 
age, which  had  passed  the  great  seal,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  civil  wars  ;  and  the  fourth,  that  he  should  give 
the  two  houses  power  to  adjourn  as  they  thought  proper. 

Charles,  though  a  prisoner,  regarded  these  pretensions* 
as  exorbitant,  and  desired  that  all  the  terms  on  both  sides 
should  be  adjusted,  before  any  concession  on  either  was 
insisted  on.     The  republicans  pretended  to  take 
fire  at  this  reply;  and  Cromwell,  after  expatiating  ^^ 
on  the  valour  and  godliness  of  the  army,  added, 
."  teach  them  not  by  neglecting  your  own  safety  and  that 
of  the  kingdom,  in  which  their's  too  is  involved,  to  imagine 
themselves  betrayed,  and  their  interests  abandoned  to  the 
rage  and  malice  of  an  irreconcilable  enemy,  whom,  for 
your  sake,  they  have  dared  to  provoke.     Beware,  (and  at 
these  words  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  sword,)  beware  lest 
despair  cause  them  to  seek  safety  by  some  other  means 
than  by  adhering  to  you,  who  know  not  how  to  consult 
your  oWn  safety." 

Ninety-one  members,  however,  had  still  the  courage  to 
oppose  this  menace  of  Cromwell ;  but  the  majority  deci- 
ded that  no  more  addresses  were  to  be  made  to  the  king, 
nor  any  letters  or  messages  received  from  him,  and  that  it 
should  be  treason  for  any  one  to  have  intercourse  with  him, 
without  a  permission  from  parliament.  By  this  vote  the 
king  was  actually  dethroned ;  and  this  violent  measure 
was  supported  by  a  declaration  of  the  commons,  equally 
violent,  in  which  the  character  of  Charles  was  aspersed 
with  the  foulest  calumnies. 

Scotland,  whence  the  king's  cause  had  received  the  first 
fatal  disaster,  seemed  now  to  promise  its  support  and  as- 
sistance. Alarmed  at  the  subjection  of  parliament  to  the 
army,  and  the  confinement  of  Charles,  the  Scots  had  re- 
solved to  arm  forty  thousand  men,  in  support  of  their  na- 
tive prince,  and  secretly  entered  into  correspondence  witk 
the  English  royalists,  sir  Marmaduke  Langdale  and  sir 
Philip  Musgrave,  who  had  levied  considerable  forces  in 
the  north  of  England.  Various  combinations  and  ctm 
27 


314  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

spiracies  for  the  same  purpose  were  every  where  forming ; 
and  seventeen  ships,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  decla- 
red for  the  king ;  and  setting  their  admiral  ashore,  sailed 
over  to  Holland,  where  the  prince  of  Wales  took  the  com- 
mand of  them. 

Cromwell  and  his  military  council,  however,  prepared 
themselves  with  vigour  and  conduct  for  defence  ;  and 
while  the  forces  were  employed  in  all  quarters,  parliament 
having  regained  some  share  of  liberty,  repealed  the  vote 
for  non-addressing,  and  five  peers  and  ten  commoners  were 
sent  to  Newport,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  as  commissioners  to 
treat  with  Charles. 

From  the  time  that  the  king  had  been  a  prisoner  in  Ca- 
risbroke  castle,  he  had  totally  neglected  his  person,  and 
had  suffered  his  beard  to  grow  long.  His  hair  had  become 
almost  entirely  gray,  either  from  the  decline  of  years,  or 
the  load  of  sorrow  with  which  he  was  oppressed.  The  vi- 
gour of  his  mind,  however,  was  still  unbroken  ;  and  alone, 
and  unsupported,  for  two  months,  he  maintained  an  argu- 
ment against  fifteen  men  of  the  greatest  parts  and  capacity, 
without  any  advantage  being  obtained  over  him.  Of  all 
the  demands  of  the  parliament,  Charles  refused  only  two  : 
he  would  neither  give  up  his  friends  to  punishment,  nor 
abolish  episcopacy,  though  he  was  willing  to  temper  it. 

In  the  mean  time,  Cromwell,  with  eight  thousand  men, 
attacked  and  defeated  the  numerous  armies  of  twenty 
thousand,  commanded  by  Hamilton  and  Langdale,  and 
took  the  former  prisoner.  Following  up  his  advantage, 
he  marched  into  Scotland,  where  he  exercised  the  most 
tyrannical  power;  and,  in  conjunction  with  those  of  his  own 
party,  placed  all  authority  in  the  hands  of  tbe  most  violent 
anti-royalists.  Colchester,  after  holding  out  for  the  king  to 
the  last  extremity,  under  sir  Charles  Lucas  and  sir  George 
Lisle,  was  obliged  to  surrender ;  and  Fairfax,  instigated 
by  the  inhuman  Ireton,  caused  those  officers  to  be  shot. 

These  successes  of  the  army  had  subdued  all  their  ene- 
mies, except  the  helpless  king  and  parliament ;  and  the 
council  of  general  officers,  at  the  suggestion  of  Cromwell, 
now  demanded  the  dissolution  of  that  assembly,  and  a  more 
equal  representation  in  future.  At  the  same  time  they  ad- 
vanced the  troops  to  Windsor,  and  ordered  the  king  to  be 
removed  to  Hurst  castle  in  Hampshire,  where  he  was  kej 
in  close  confinement. 


CHARLES    I.  315 

The  parliament,  however,  did  not  lose  their  courage, 
but  set  aside  the  remonstrances  of  the  army,  and  issued 
orders  that  it  should  not  advance  nearer  to  London.  The 
parliament,  however,  had  to  deal  with  men  who  would 
not  be  intimidated  by  words,  nor  retarded  by  any  scrupu- 
lous delicacy.  The  generals  marched  the  army  to  Lon- 
don, and  surrounded  the  parliament  with  their  hostile  pre- 
parations. In  this  situation,  the  parliament  had  the  reso- 
lution to  attempt  to  close  their  treaty  with  the  king ;  and 
after  a  violent  debate  of  three  days,  it  was  carried  by  a 
majority  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine,  against  eighty- 
three,  in  the  house  of  commons,  that  the  king's  conces- 
sions were  a  foundation  for  the  houses  to  proceed  upon  in 
the  settlement  of  the  kingdom. 

Next  day,  however,  when  the  commons  were  about  to 
meet,  colonel  Pride,  formerly  a  drayman,  having  sur- 
sounded  the  house  with  two  regiments,  forty-one  members 
of  the  presbyterian  party  were  seized,  and  above  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  more  were  excluded.  In  short,  none  but 
the  most  determined  independents  were  allowed  to  enter, 
and  these  did  not  exceed  the  number  of  fifty  or -sixty. 
This  invasion  of  the  parliament  commonly  passed  under 
the  name  of  colonel  Pride's  purge.  The  independents  in- 
stantly reversed  the  former  vote,  and  declared  the  king's 
concessions  unsatisfactory ;  they  renewed  the  former  vote* 
of  non-addresses ;  and  committed  some  of  the  leading 
presbyterian  members  to  prison. 

The  council  of  officers  now  took  into  consideration  a 
scheme,  called  "  the  agreement  of  the  people,"  which  laid 
the  basis  of  a  republic ;  and,  that,  they  might  complete  their 
iniquity  and  fanatical  extravagance,  they  urged  on  this 
shadow  of  a  parliament  to  bring  in  a  specific  charge  against 
their  sovereign.  Accordingly,  a  vote  was  passed,  decla- 
ring it  treason  in  a  king  to  levy  war  against  his  parliament, 
and  appointed  a  high  court  of  justice  to  try  Charles  for 
this  new  invented  treason.  This  vote  was  sent  up  to  the 
house  of  peers  ;  and  that  assembly,  which  was  in  general 
very  thinly  attended,  was  on  that  day  fuller  than  usual, 
and  consisted  of  sixteen  members ;  but  without  one  dis- 
senting voice,  they  instantly  rejected  the  vote  of  the  lower 
house,  and  adjourned  for  ten  days,  in  hopes,  by  this  delay, 
to  retard  the  furious  career  of  the  commons. 

That  body,  however,  having  assumed  as  a  principle, 
which  is  true  in  theory,  though  false  in  practice, "  that  the 


316  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

people  are  the  origin  of  all  just  power,"  they  declared  that 
the  commons  represented  the  people,  and  that  their  enact- 
ments have  the  force  of  laws /without  the  consent  of  king 
or  house  of  peers.  The  ordinance  for  the  trial  of  Charles 
Stuart  was  then  again  read,  and  unanimously  agreed  to. 

Colonel  Harrison,  the  son  of  a  butcher,  and  the  most 
furious  enthusiast  of  the  army,  was  despatched  with  a 
strong  party  to  conduct  the  king  to  London ;  and  it  appears 
that,  at  this  time,  his  majesty  expected  assassination,  and 
could  not  believe  that  they  really  intended  to  conclude  their 
acts  of  violence  by  a  public  trial  and  execution. 

All  things,  however,  being  adjusted,  the  high  court  of 
justice  was  fully  constituted.  It  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three  persons  named  by  the  commons ;  but 
scarcely  more  than  seventy  ever  sat ;  so  difficult  was  it  to 
engage  men  of  any  name  or  character  in  that  atrocious 
measure.  Cromwell,  Ireton,  Harrison,  and  the  chief  offi- 
cers of  the  army,  most  of  them  of  low  birth,  were  mem- 
bers, together  with  some  of  the  lower  house,  and  a  few 
citizens  of  London.  The  twelve  judges  were  at  first  ap- 
pointed in  the  number ;  but  as  they  had  affirmed  that  the 
proceeding  was  illegal,  their  names  were  struck  out. 
Bradshaw,  a  lawyer,  was  chosen  president,  and  Coke  was 
appointed  solicitor  to  the  people  of  England. 

The  court  sat  in  Westminster-hall ;  and  the  king  being 
arraigned  for  levying  war  againt  the  parliament,  was  im- 
peached as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  and  murderer.  Though  long 
detained  a  prisoner,  and  now  produced  as  a  criminal, 
Charles  sustained  the  dignity  of  a  monarch,  and  with  great 
temper  and  force,  declined  the  authority  of  the  court. 
Three  times  was  he  brought  before  his  judges,  and  as  of- 
ten declined  their  jurisdiction.  On  the  fourth,  the  court 
having  examined  some  witnesses,  by  whom  it  was  proved 
that  the  king  had  appeared  in  arms  against  the  forces  com- 
missioned by  the  parliament,  they  pronounced  sentence 
against  him. 

In  this  last  scene,  Charles  forgot  not  his  character,  either 
as  a  man  or  a  prince.  Firm  and  intrepid,  he  maintained 
in  each  reply  the  utmost  perspicuity  in  thought  and  ex- 
pression ;  mild  and  equable,  he  rose  into  no  passion  at  the 
unusual  authority  assumed  over  him.  His  soul,  without 
effort  or  affectation,  seemed  only  to  remain  in  the  situa 
tion  familiar  to  it,  and  to  look  down  with  contempt  on  :»U 


Charles  the  First  parting  with  his  Children. 


Execution  of  Charles  the  First. 


I 


CHARLES   I.  317 

the  efforts  of  human  malice.  The  soldiers  were  brought, 
though  with  difficulty,  to  cry  aloud  for  justice :  "  Poor 
souls,"  said  the  king,  "  for  a  little  money  they  would  do 
as  much  against  their  commanders." 

Three  days  only  were  allowed  the  king  between  his  sen- 
tence and  execution  ;  and  this  interval  was  passed  in  read- 
ing and  devotion,  and  in  conversing  with  the  princess 
Elizabeth  and  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  who  alone  of  his 
family  remained  in  England. 

The  morning  of  the  fatal  day,  which  was  the  30th  of 
January,  1649,  Charles  rose  early,  and  calling  Herbert, 
one  of  his  attendants,  bade  him  employ  more  than  usual 
care  in  dressing  him,  and  preparing  him  for  such  a  great 
and  joyful  solemnity.  Juxon,  bishop  of  London,  a  man 
endued  with  the  same  mild  and  steady  virtues  as  his  mas- 
ter, assisted  him  in  his  devotions,  and  paid  the  last  me- 
lancholy duties  to  his  sovereign.  As  he  was  preparing 
himself  for  the  block,  Juxon  said,  "  there  is,  sir,  but  one 
stage  more,  which,  though  turbulent,  is  yet  a  very  short 
one.  Consider,  it  will  soon  carry  you  a  great  way  :  it  will 
carry  you  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  there  you  shall  find, 
to  your  great  joy,  the  prize  to  which  you  hasted,  a  crown 
of  glory."  "  I  go,"  replied  the  king,  "  from  a  corruptible 
to  an  incorruptible  crown,  where  no  disturbance  can  have 
place."  At  one  blow  his  head  was  severed  from  his  body 
by  a  man  in  a  visor ;  and  another,  in  a  similar  disguise, 
held  up  to  the  spectators  the  head  streaming  with  blood, 
and  cried  aloud,  "  This  is  the  head  of  a  traitor !" 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  grief,  indignation,  and 
astonishment,  which  took  place  throughout  the  nation,  o» 
this  melancholy  occasion.  Each  reproached  himself  either 
with  active  disloyalty,  or  with  a  too  indolent  defence  of  the 
royal  cause.  The  generous  Fairfax,  it  appears,  had  de- 
signed to  rescue  the  king  from  the  scaffold,  with  his  own 
regiment;  but  this  intention  being  known,  he  was  artfully 
engaged  by  Cromwell  in  prayer  with  Harrison,  till  the  fatal 
blow  was  struck. 

The  moment  before  his  execution,  Charles  had  said  to 
Juxon,  in  an  earnest  and  impressive  manner,  remember  f 
and  the  generals  insisted  with  the  prelate,  that  he  should 
inform  them  of  the  king's  meaning.  Juxon  told  them, 
that  the  king  had  charged  him  to  inculcate  on  his  son  the 
forgiveness  of  his  murderers ;  a  sentiment  which  in  his 
27* 


318  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

last  speech  he  had  before  declared.  As  a  king,  Charles 
was  not  free  from  faults  ;  but  as  a  man,  few  had  ever  filled 
the  throne,  who  were  entitled  to  more  unqualified  praise. 

A  few  days  after  the  consummation  of  this  tragedy,  the 
commons  passed  a  vote,  abolishing  the  house  of  peers  a? 
dangerous  and  useless,  and  a  like  vote  was  passed  in  re- 
gard to  the  monarchy.  It  was  declared  high-treason  to 
proclaim  or  otherwise  acknowledge  Charles  Stuart,  com- 
monly called  the  prince  of  Wales ;  and  the  commons  or- 
dered a  new  great  seal  to  be  engraved,  on  which  that  as- 
sembly was  represented,  with  a  legend,  "  On  the  first  year 
of  freedom,  by  God's  blessing  restored,  1648." 


CHAP.  XII. 

The  Commonwealth. 

On  the  death  of  Charles,  every  person  had  framed  the 
model  of  a  republic,  which  how  new  or  absurd  soever,  he 
wished  to  impose  on  his  fellow  citizens.  The  le- 
lf±Q  ve^ers  insisted  on  an  equal  distribution  of  power 
and  property ;  the  millenarians,  or  fifth  monarchy 
men,  required  that  government  itself  should  be  abolished, 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  dominion  of  Christ,  whose  se- 
cond coming  they  suddenly  expected ;  while  the  antino- 
mians  asserted,  that  the  obligations  of  morality  and  natu- 
ral law  were  superseded,  and  that  the  elect  were  guided 
by  an  internal  principle  more  perfect  and  divine. 

The  royalists  were  inflamed  with  the  highest  resent- 
ment against  their  ignoble  adversaries  ;  the  presbyterians 
were  enraged  to  find  that  the  fruits  of  their  labours  were 
ravished  from  them,  by  the  treachery  or  superior  cunning 
of  their  associates ;  and  the  army,  the  only  support  of  the 
independent  republican  faction,  was  actuated  by  a  religious 
frenzy,  which  rendered  it  dangerous  even  to  its  friends. 

The  only  poise  against  these  irregularities  of  action, 
was  the  great  influence  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Hating  mo- 
narchy, while  a  subject ;  despising  liberty,  while  a  citizen  ; 
he  was  secretly  paving  the  way,  by  artifice  and  courage,  to 
his  own  unlimited  authority. 

The  parliament  now  named  a  council  of  state,  consisting 
of  thirty-eight  members,  to  whom  all  addresses  were  made, 
and  who  digested  all  business  before  it  was  introduced  into 
the  house.      Foreign  powers,  occupied  in  wars  among 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  319 

themselves,  had  no  leisure  or  inclination  to  interpose  in 
the  domestic  dissentions  of  this  island ;  and  the  young 
king,  poor  and  neglected,  comforted  himself  amidst  his 
present  distress  only  with  the  hopes  of  better  fortune. 
The  situation  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  alone  gave  any  in- 
quietude to  the  new  republic. 

Argyle  and  his  partisans  had  proclaimed  Charles  II.  in 
Scotland  ;  but  on  condition  "  of  his  good  behaviour  and 
strict  observance  of  the  covenant:"  in  Ireland,  the  duke  of 
Ormond  having  contrived  to  assemble  an  army  of  sixteen 
thousand  men,  recovered  several  places  from  the  parlia- 
ment, and  threatened  Dublin  with  a  siege  ;  and  the  young 
king  entertained  thoughts  of  visiting  that  kingdom. 

Cromwell  aspired  to  a  situation  where  so  much  glory 
might  be  won,  and  so  much  authority  acquired ;  and,  by 
his  usual  cunning,  he  procured  from  the  council  of  state 
the  appointment  of  commander  in  chief  in  that  island. 
Many  disorders,  however,  in  England,  and  particularly  in 
the  army,  were  necessary  to  be  composed,  before  he  set 
out ;  but  with  his  usual  felicity,  he  settled  affairs  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  him  to  undertake  the  expedition. 

On  his  arrival  at  Dublin,  he  attacked  and  defeated  the 
army  of  Ormond,  whose  military  character  in  this  action 
received  some  stain.  He  then  hastened  to  Tredah,  which 
was  well  fortified,  and  garrisoned  with  three  thousand 
men  ;  and  having  made  a  breach,  he  ordered  a  general 
assault.  The  town  was  taken  sword  in  hand  ;  and  orders 
being  issued  to  give  no  quarter,  a  cruel  slaughter  was  made 
of  the  garrison.  One  person  alone  escaped,  to  be  the 
messenger  of  the  universal  havoc  and  destruction. 

Cromwell  pretended  to  retaliate,  by  this  severe  execu- 
tion, the  cruelty  of  the  Irish  massacre  ;  and  though  he  well 
knew  that  nearly  the  whole  garrison  were  English,  his 
barbarous  policy  had  certainly  the  desired  effect.  Every 
town  before  which  he  presented  himself,  now  opened  its 
gates  without  offering  any  resistance ;  and  the  English 
had  no  other  difficulties  to  encounter,  than  what  arose  from 
fatigue  and  the  advanced  season.  Fluxes  and  contagious 
distempers  destroyed  great  numbers  of  them ;  but  the 
English  garrisons  of  Cork,  Rinsale,  and  other  important 
places,  deserted  to  him. 

This  desertion  of  the  English  put  an  end  to  Ormond's 
authority ;  and  leaving  the  island,  he  delegated  his  power 


320  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

to  Clanricarde,  who  found  affairs  too  desperate  to  admit 
any  remedy.  Above  forty  thousand  Irish  passed  into  fo- 
reign service  ;  and  in  the  space  of  nine  months,  Cromwell 
had  almost  entirely  subdued  Ireland. 

In  the  mean  time,  Charles  being  informed  that 
tfi^O  ne  kac*  Deen  proclaimed  king  by  the  Scottish  par- 
liament, was  at  length  persuaded,  though  reluc- 
tantly, to  submit  to  the  severe  conditions  Annexed  to  his 
receival  of  the  crown.  To  comply  with  these,  he  was 
chiefly  induced  by  the  account  brought  him  of  the  fate  of 
Montrose,  who,  with  all  the  circumstances  of  rage  and 
contumely,  had  been  put  to  death  by  his  zealous  country- 
men. The  sentence  pronounced  against  Montrose,  was, 
that  after  being  hanged,  his  head  should  be  cut  off,  and 
affixed  to  the  prison,  and  that  his  legs  and  arms  should  be 
stuck  up  on  the  four  chief  towns  in  the  kingdom.  He  told 
the  clergy,  who  insulted  over  his  fallen  fortunes,  that  they 
were  a  miserably  deluded  and  deluding  people.  "  For 
my  part,"  added  he,  "  I  am  much  prouder  to  have  my 
head  affixed  to  the  place  where  it  is  sentenced  to  stand, 
than  to  have  my  picture  hung  in  the  king's  bed-chamber. 
So  far  from  being  sorry,  that  my  quarters  are  to  be  sent 
to  four  cities  of  the  kingdom,  I  wish  that  I  had  limbs  enow 
to  be  dispersed  into  all  the  cities  of  Christendom,  there  to 
remain  as  testimonies  in  favour  of  the  cause  for  which  I 
suffer."  This  sentiment,  the  same  evening,  he  threw  into 
verse  ;  and  the  poem  still  remains,  a  monument  of  his  he- 
roic spirit,  and  no  despicable  proof  of  his  poetic  genius. 
With  the  same  constancy  he  endured  the  last  act  of  the 
executioner ;  and  thus  perished,  in  the  thirty-eighth  year 
of  his  age,  the  gallant  marquis  of  Montrose. 

Charles,  in  consequence  of  his  agreement  to  take  the 
covenant,  and  to  submit  toother  hard  conditions,  landed 
in  Scotland  ;  but  soon  found  himself  considered  as  a  mere 
pageant  of  state,  and  that  the  few  remains  of  royalty  which 
he  possessed,  served  only  to  draw  on  him  the  greater  in- 
dignities. As  his  facility  in  yielding  to  every  demand 
gave  some  reason  to  doubt  his  sincerity,  it  was  proposed 
-that  he  should  pass  through  a  public  humiliation,  instead 
of  being  crowned  as  he  expected. 

The  advance  of  the  English  army  under  Cromwell, 
could  not  appease  nor  soften  the  animosities  among  the 
parties  in  Scotland.     As  soon  as  the  English  parliament 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  321 

found  that  the  treaty  between  Charles  and  the  Scots  was 
likely  to  lead  to  an  accommodation,  they  prepared  for  war. 
The  command  in  Ireland  was  left  to  Ireton ;  and  Crom- 
well being  declared  captain-general  of  all  the  forces  in 
England,  entered  Scotland  with  an  army  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand men. 

The  command  of  the  Scottish  army  was  given  to  Leslie, 
who  entrenched  himself  between  Edinburgh  and  Leith, 
and  avoided  a  battle,  which  Cromwell  tried  every  expe- 
dient to  bring  on.  The  latter  was  at  length  reduced  to 
such  extremities,  that  he  had  even  embraced  the  resolution 
of  sending  all  his  foot  and  artillery  to  England  by  sea, 
and  of  breaking  through,  at  all  hazards,  with  his  cavalry; 
but  the  madness  of  the  Scottish  ecclesiastics  preserved  him 
from  this  dishonour. 

These  enthusiasts  had  not  only  enjoined  Charles  to  with- 
draw from  the  army,  but  they  had  purged  it  of  four  thou- 
sand makgnants,  as  they  were  called,  though  reckoned  the 
best  soldiers  in  the  nation  ;  and  on  the  faith  of  visions, 
forced  their  general,  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances,  to  de- 
scend from  an  advantageous  station  upon  the  heights  of 
Lamermure,  near  Dunbar,  with  a  view  of  attacking  the 
English  in  their  retreat.  Cromwell,  seeing  the  enemy's 
camp  in  motion,  foretold  without  the  help  of  revelations, 
"  that  the  Lord  had  delivered  them  into  his  hands."  He 
gave  orders  for  an  immediate  attack ;  and  such  was  the 
effect  of  discipline,  that  the  Scots,  though  double  in  num- 
ber, were  soon  put  to  flight,  and  pursued  with  great  slaugh- 
ter. About  three  thousand  were  slain,  and  nine  thousand 
taken  prisoners  ;  and  Cromwell  following  up  his  advan- 
tage, took  possession  of  Edinburgh  and  Leith.  The  rem- 
nant of  the  Scottish  army  fled  to  Stirling.  The  defeat  of 
the  Scots  was  regarded  by  Charles  as  a  fortunate  event,  as 
the  vanquished  were  now  obliged  to  allow  him  more  autho- 
rity. Still,  however,  the  protesters  kept  aloof  from  the 
malignants. 

Charles  encamped  at  Torwood,  with  the  town  of  Stir- 
ling behind  him,  and  cautiously  adhered  to  defen- 
sive measures;    but  Cromwell,  passing  over  the  t'„?* 
frith  into  Fife,  posted  himself  in  his  rear,  and  ren- 
dered  it  impossible  for  the  king  to  keep  his  station.  Charles, 
reduced  to  despair,  embraced  a  resolution  worthy  of  a 
young  prince  contending  for  empire.     The  road  to  Eng- 


HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

land  being  open,  where  he  hoped  to  be  joined  by  numerous 
friends,  he  persuaded  the  generals  to  march  thither ;  and 
with  one  consent  the  army,  to  the  number  of  fourteen 
thousand  men,  rose  from  their  camp,  and  advanced  by 
rapid  marches  towards  the  south. 

Cromwell,  leaving  Monk  with  seven  thousand  men  to 
complete  the  reduction  of  Scotland,  followed  the  king 
with  all  possible  expedition.  Charles  found  himself  dis- 
appointed in  his  expectations  of  increasing  his  army  :  the 
Scots  fell  off  in  great  numbers  ;  the  English  presbyterians 
and  the  royalists  were  unprepared  to  join  him  ;  and  when 
he  arrived  at  Worcester,  his  forces  were  not  more  nume- 
rous than  when  he  rose  from  his  camp  at  Torwood. 

Such  is  the  influence  of  established  government,  that  the 
commonwealth,  though  very  unpopular,  had  sufficint  in- 
fluence to  raise  the  militia  of  the  counties  ;  and  these,  uni- 
ted with  the  regular  forces,  enabled  Cromwell  to  fall  upon 
the  king  at  Worcester  with  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men. 
The  streets  of  that  city  were  strewed  with  the  dead. 
Hamilton,  a  nobleman  of  bravery  and  honour,  was  mor- 
tally wounded  ;  Massey  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner ; 
and  the  king  himself,  having  given  many  proofs  of  per- 
sonal valour,  was  obliged  to  fly.  The  whole  Scottish  army 
was  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

By  the  earl  of  Derby's  directions,  Charles  went  to  Bos- 
cobel,  a  lone  house  on  the  borders  of  Staffordshire,  inha- 
bited by  one  Penderell,  a  farmer,  who,  with  his  four  bro- 
thers, served  him  with  unshaken  fidelity.  Having  clothed 
the  king  in  a  garb  like  their  own,  they  led  him  into  a 
neighbouring  wood,  and  pretended  to  employ  themselves 
in  cutting  faggots.  For  better  concealment,  he  mounted 
an  oak,  where,  hid  among  the  leaves,  he  saw  several  sol- 
diers pass  bv,  who  expressed  in  his  hearing  their  earnest 
wishes  of  finding  him.  At  length,  after  escaping  fre- 
quent dangers  of  detection,  the  king  embarked  on  board  a 
vessel  at  Shoreham,  in  Sussex,  and  arrived  safely  at  Fes- 
camp  in  Normandy,  after  a  concealment  of  one  and  forty 
days.  No  less  than  forty  men  and  women  had  at  different 
times  been,  privy  to  his  concealment,  yet  all  of  them  proved 
faithful  to  their  trust. 

The  battle  of  Worcester  afforded  Cromwell  what  he  call- 
ed his  "  crowning  mercy ;"  and  he  now  discovered  to  his 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  323 

intimate  friends  his  aspiring  views.  The  unpopularity  of 
the  parliament  aided  the  ambition  of  this  enterprising  man, 
and  paved  the  way  to  his  exaltation.  Never,  however,  had 
the  power  of  this  country  appeared  so  formidable  to  neigh- 
bouring nations,  as  at  this  time.  Blake  had  raised  the  na- 
val glory  of  England  to  a  greater  height  than  it  had  at- 
tained at  any  former  period.  In  America,  the  Bermudas, 
Antigua,  Virginia,  and  Barbadoes,  were  reduced  ;  Jersey, 
Guernsey,  Scilly,  and  the  Isle  of  Man,  were  brought  under 
subjection  to  the  republic ;  and  all  the  British  dominions 
submitting,  parliament  turned  its  views  to  foreign  enter- 
prises. 

The  Dutch  were  the  first  that  felt  the  weight  of  their 
arms.  The  parliament  passed  the  famous  navigation  act. 
Letters  of  reprisal  were  granted  to  several  merchants,  who 
complained  of  injuries  which  they  had  received  from  the 
states  ;  and  above  eighty  Dutch  ships  fell  into  their  hands, 
and  were  made  prizes.  The  cruelties  committed  on  the 
English  at  Amboyna,  which  had  been  suffered  to  sleep  in 
oblivion  for  thirty  years,  were  also  urged  as  a  ground  for 
hostile  aggression. 

That  they  might  not  be  unprepared  for  the  war  with 
which  they  were  menaced,  the  States  equipped  a 
fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  sail ;  and  gave  the  |l»eo 
command  of  a  squadron  of  forty-two  ships  to  Van 
Tromp,  an  admiral  of  great  talents,  to  protect  the  Dutch 
navigation  against  the  privateers  of  England.     In  the  road 
of  Dover,  he  met  with  Blake,  who  commanded  an  English 
fleet  much  inferior  in  number.     Who  was  the  aggressor  in 
the  action  which  ensued,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine ;  but 
the  Dutch  were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  one  ship  sunk, 
and  another  taken. 

The  parliament  gladly  seized  this  opportunity  of  com- 
mencing the  war  in  form.  Several  actions  now  took  place 
with  various  success.  At  length,  Tromp,  seconded  by  De 
Ruyter,  met  near  the  Goodwin  Sands  with  Blake,  who, 
though  his  fleet  was  inferior  to  that  of  the  Dutch,  declined 
not  the  combat.  Both  sides  fought  with  the  greatest  bra- 
vely ;  but  the  advantage  remained  with  the  Dutch ;  and 
after  this  victory,  Tromp,  in  a  bravado,  fixed  a  broom 
to  his  mast-head,  as  if  resolved  to  sweep  the  seas  of  the 
English. 

Great  preparations  were  made  in  England  to  wipe  off* 


324  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

this  disgrace ;  and  a  fleet  of  eighty  sail  was  fitted 
tfiS*  out'  commana*ed  by  Blake,  and  under  him  by  Dean 
i0ihi  and  Monk.  As  the  English  lay  off  Portland,  they 
descried  a  Dutch  fleet  of  seventy-six  vessels,  sailing  up  the 
channel,  with  three  hundred  merchantmen,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Tromp  and  De  Ruyter.  A  most  furious  battle 
commenced,  and  continued  for  three  days,  with  the  ut- 
most rage  and  obstinacy ;  and  Blake,  who  was  victor, 
could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  gained  more  honour  than 
the  vanquished.  Tromp  made  a  skilful  retreat,  and  after 
losing  eleven  ships  of  war,  and  thirty  merchantmen,  reach- 
ed the  coast  of  Holland. 

This  defeat,  together  with  the  loss  which  their  trade 
sustained  by  the  war,  inclined  the  States  to  peace ;  but 
parliament  did  not  receive  their  overtures  in  a  favourable 
manner ;  and  they  rejoiced  at  the  dissolution  of  that  as- 
sembly by  Cromwell,  as  an  event  likely  to  render  their 
affairs  more  prosperous. 

Cromwell,  sensible  that  parliament  entertained  a  jea- 
lousy of  his  power,  which  they  wished  to  restrain,  deter- 
mined to  anticipate  their  designs.  A  council  of  officers 
presented  a  remonstrance,  complaining  of  the  arrears  due 
to  the  army,  and  demanding  that  a  new  parliament  should 
be  summoned.  To  this  the  parliament  made  a  sharp  re- 
ply ;  and  Cromwell  in  a  rage  hastened  to  the  house,  at- 
tended by  three  hundred  soldiers,  some  of  whom  he  placed 
at  the  door,  some  in  the  lobby,  and  some  on  the  stairs. 
He  reproached  the  parliament  for  their  tyranny,  ambition, 
and  oppression ;  and  commanding  the  soldiers  to  clear  the 
hall,  he  himself  went  out  the  last,  and  ordering  the  doors 
to  be  locked,  departed  to  his  lodgings  at  Whitehall. 

Oliver  Cromwell,  who  had  by  this  violent  measure  mo- 
nopolized the  whole  civil  and  military  power  in  the  king- 
dom, was  bom  at  Huntingdon,  of  a  good  family,  though 
their  estate  was  small.  In  the  early  part  of  his  life,  he 
was  extremely  dissolute  and  dissipated ;  but  he  was  sud- 
denly seized  with  the  spirit  of  reformation,  and  entered 
into  all  the  zeal  and  rigour  of  the  puritans.  His  affairs 
being  embarrassed,  he  took  a  farm  at  St.  Ives,  and  applied 
himself  to  agriculture  ;  but  this  expedient  involved  him  in 
greater  difficulties.  The  length  of  his  prayers,  together 
with  the  general  abstraction  of  his  mind,  prevented  him 
from  paying  due  attention  to  his  farm ;  and  urged  by  his 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  325 

wants,  and  the  religious  principles  he  had  imbibed,  he  had 
made  a  party  with  Hampden,  his  near  kinsman,  to  trans- 
port himself  to  New-England,  but  was  prevented  by  an 
order  of  council.  From  accident  and  inhigue,  he  was 
chosen  member  for  the  town  of  Cambridge  in  the  long 
parliament ;  but  though  highly  gifted  by  nature,  he  was 
no  orator ;  and  if  he  had  not  lived  in  times  of  turbulence 
and  disorder,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  never  have  risen 
to  eminence  and  distinction. 

The  indignation  manifested  by  the  people,  on  the  usur- 
pation of  Cromwell,  was  less  violent  than  might  have  been 
expected.  Harassed  with  wars  and  factions,  men  were 
glad  to  see  any  prospect  of  peace  ;  and  they  considered  it 
less  ignominious  to  submit  to  a  person  of  talents  and  abili- 
ties, than  to  a  few  enthusiastic  hypocrites,  who,  under  the 
name  of  a  republic,  had  reduced  them  to  a  cruel  subjection. 

By  the  advice  of  his  council  of  officers,  Cromwell  sent 
summons  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  persons,  of  dif- 
ferent towns  and  counties  of  England,  to  five  of  Scotland, 
and  to  six  of  Ireland.  These  men,  who  were  generally 
low  mechanics,  supported  by  Cromwell,  voted  themselves 
a  parliament;  and  from  one  of  the  most  noted,  a  leather- 
seller  in  London,  whose  name  was  Praise-God  Barebone, 
they  obtained  the  ridiculous  appellation  of  Barebone's 
parliament.  Cromwell,  however,  soon  b«cume  dissatisfied 
with  this  assembly  of  fanatics,  who,  he  t^pected,  would 
have  been  subservient  to  him,  but  who  began  to  insist  on 
their  divine  commission,  and  to  oppose  his  views.  In  the 
act  of  drawing  up  a  protest  against  their  dissolution,  they 
were  interrupted  by  colonel  White,  with  a  party  of  sol- 
diers. White  asked  them  what  they  did  there  1  "  We  are 
seeking  the  Lord,"  said  they.  "  Then  you  may  go  else- 
where," replied  he,  "  for  to  my  knowledge,  he  has  not 
been  here  these  many  years." 

This  shadow  of  a  parliament  being  dissolved,  the  coun- 
cil of  officers  now  proposed,  that  the  supreme  authority 
should  be  vested  in  a  single  person,  who  should  be  styled 
the  protector  ;  and  a  new  instrument  of  government  be- 
ing prepared,  Cromwell  was  declared  protector,  and  instal- 
led with  great  solemnity  in  that  hijjh  office".  By  the  plan 
of  this  new  legislature,  a  council  was  appointed,  which  was 
not  to  exceed  twenty-one,  nor  be  fewer  than  thirteen  per- 
sons. The  protector,  however,  was  to  possess  all  the 
28 


826  HISTORY  OP  BNGXAND. 

executive  power ;  but  the  advice  of  the  council  was  to  be 
taken  on  every  important  occasion.  A  parliament  was  to 
be  summoned  every  three  years,  and  allowed  to  sit  five 
months,  without  adjournment,  prorogation,  or  dissolution. 
The  bills  which  they  passed  were  to  be  presented  to  the 
protector  for  his  assent ;  but  if  within  twenty  days  that  as 
sent  was  not  obtained,  they  were  to  become  laws  by  the 
authority  of  parliament  alone.  A  standing  army  was  es- 
tablished, and  funds  were  assigned  for  its  support.  During 
the  intervals  of  parliament,  the  protector  and  council  had 
the  power  of  enacting  laws,  which  were  to  be  valid  till  the 
next  meeting  of  the  legislative  body.  The  protector  was 
to  enjoy  his  office  during  life  ;  and,  on  his  death,  the  coun- 
cil was  to  fill  up  the  vacancy.  The  council  of  state, 
named  by  the  instrument,  were  men  entirely  devoted  to 
Cromwell,  and  not  likely  ever  to  combine  against  him. 

Whatever  may  be  the  defects  and  distractions  in  this 
system  of  civil  polity,  the  military  force  of  England  was 
exerted  with  vigour,  conduct,  and  unanimity.     The  Eng- 
lish fleet,  commanded  by  Monk  and  Dean,  after  an  en- 
gagement of  two  days,  defeated  the  Dutch  under  Tromp  ; 
and  in  another  engagement,  when  Blake  commanded, 
Tromp  was  shot. through  the  heart,  and  this  decided  the 
action.     The  Dutch  regarded  less  the  loss  of  thirty  ships 
which  were  sunk  and  taken,  than  the  catastrophe  of  their 
brave  admiral.     At  length,  however,  a  defensive 
lfi'vi  league  was  contracted  between  the  two  republics, 
on  terms  very  honourable   and  advantageous   to 
England ;  and  Cromwell,  as  protector,  signed  the  treaty 
of  pacification. 

Cromwell,  however,  had  occasion  to  observe  the  preju- 
dices entertained  against  his  government,  by  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  parliament  which  he  ljad  summoned.  The 
manner  in  which  he  had  conducted  the  elections  had  been 
favourable  to  liberty.  The  small  boroughs,  as  being  most 
exposed  to  influence  and  corruption,  had  been  disfranchi- 
sed ;  and  of  four  hundred  members  who  represented  Eng- 
land, two  hundred  and  seventy  were  chosen  by  the  coun- 
ties. These  measures,  however,  failed  to  procure  him  the 
confidence  of  the  people  ;  and  the  first  business  on  which 
the  parliament  entered,  was  to  discuss  the  pretended  in- 
strument of  government,  and  the  authority  which  Crom- 
well had  assumed  over  the  nation.     Cromwell  obliged  the 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  327 

members  to  sign  a  recognition  of  his  authority,  and  an  en- 
gagement not  to  propose  or  consent  to  any  alteration  in 
the  government,  as  settled  in  a  single  person  and  a  par- 
liament ;  but,  finding  that  conspiracies  had  been  entered 
into  between  the  members  and  some  malcontent  officers, 
he  hastened  to  dissolve  this  dangerous  assembly. 

After  this,  the  protector  exerted  himself  against  the  ad- 
herents of  Charles,  who  had  appointed  a  day  of 
general  rising  throughout  England ;  and  in  order  Jj,.j 
to  draw  off  the  attention  of  the  nation  from  himself, 
he  extended  his  enterprises  to  every  part  of  Europe.     He 
compelled   the    French    to    comply  with  every  proposal 
which  he  thought  fit  to  make,  and  to  submit  to  the  great- 
est indignities. 

The  extensive  but  feeble  empire  of  Spain  in  the  West 
Indies,  excited  the  ambition  of  the  protector ;  and,  in  or- 
der to  humble  that  power,  he  equipped  two  squadrons ; 
one  under  Blake  entered  the  Mediterranean,  and  spread 
terror  every  where.  To  the  other,  under  Pen  and  Vena- 
bles,  Jamaica  surrendered  without  a  blow ;  and  that  island 
has  ever  since  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  the 
chief  acquisition  which  they  owe  to  the  enterprising  spirit 
of  Cromwell. 

Blake,  being  informed  that  a  Spanish  fleet  of  sixteen 
ships  had  taken  shelter  in  the  Canaries,  sailed  thither,  and 
found  them  in  the  bay  of  Santa  Cruz.  This  bay  was 
strongly  fortified ;  but  nothing  could  daunt  the  spirit  of 
Blake.  In  spite  of  the  Spanish  fdrts  and  batteries,  the 
English  admiral  steered  into  the  bay;  and,  after  a  resist- 
ance of  four  hours,  the  enemy  abandoned  their  ships, 
which  were  set  on  fire  and  consumed. 

This  was  the  last  and  greatest  action  of  that  gallant  offi- 
cer. Being  almost  worn  out  with  a  dropsy  and  scurvy, 
he  hastened  home,  that  he  might  die  in  his  native  country ; 
but  he  expired  as  he  came  within  sight  of  land.  Never 
was  a  man  more  sincerely  respected,  even  by  those  of  op- 
posite principles.  He  was  an  inflexible  republican,  and 
the  late  changes  were  thought  to  be  no  way  grateful  to 
him  ;  but  he  remarked  to  the  seamen,  u  It  is  still  our  duty 
to  fight  for  our  country,  into  whose  hands  soever  the  go- 
vernment may  fall." 

Tl  e  conduct  of  the  protector  in  foreign  affairs,  though 
often  rash,  was  full  of  vigour.     The  great  mind  of  Crom- 


328  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

well  was  intent  on  spreading  the  fame  of  the  English  na- 
tion ;  and  it  was  his  boast,  that  he  would  render  the  name 
of  an  Englishman  as  much  feared  and  revered  as  ever  was 
that  of  a  Roman.  In  his  civil  and  domestic  administra- 
tion, he  paid  great  regard  both  to  justice  and  clemency. 
All  the  chief  offices  in  the  courts  of  judicature  were  filled 
with  men  of  integrity ;  and  amidst  the  virulence  of  faction, 
the  decrees  of  the  judges  were  unwarped  by  partiality. 

Cromwell  now  judging  that  he  had  sufficiently  establish- 
ed his  authority,  summoned  another  parliament ;  but, 
though  he  had  used  every  art  to  influence  the  elections,  he 
soon  found  that  it  was  necessary  to  employ  the  most  vio- 
lent measures  to  procure  an  ascendancy  in  the  house.  He 
placed  guards  at  the  door,  who  permitted  only  such  to  en- 
ter as  produced  a  warrant  from  the  council.  The  parlia- 
ment voted  a  renunciation  of  all  titles  in  Charles  Stuart, 
or  any  of  his  family ;  and  colonel  Jephson,  in  order  to 
sound  the  inclinations  of  the  house,  ventured  to  move, 
that  they  should  bestow  the  crown  on  Cromwell.  When 
the  protector  afterwards  affected  to  ask  what  could  induce 
him  to  make  such  a  motion :  "  As  long,"  said  Jephson, 
"  as  I  have  the  honour  to  sit  in  parliament,  I  must  follow 
the  dictates  of  my  own  conscience,  whatever  offence  I  may 
be  so  unfortunate  as  to  give  you."  "  Get  thee  gone,"  said 
Cromwell,  giving  him  a  gentle  blow  on  the  shoulder,  "  get 
thee  gone  for  a  mad  fellow  as  thou  art." 

At  length,  a  motion  in  form  was  made  by  alderman 
Pack,  one  of  the  city  members,  for  investing  Cromwell 
with  the  royal  dignity.  The  chief  opposition  came  from 
the  usual  adherents  of  the  protector,  the  general  officers, 
particularly  Lambert,  who  had  long  entertained  hopes  of 
succeeding  him.  However,  the  bill  was  carried  by  a  con- 
siderable majority;  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
reason  with  Cromwell,  and  to  overcome  the  scru- 
II*  e*  pies  which  he  pretended  against  such  a  liberal  of- 
fer. The  conference  lasted  several  days  ;  but  the 
opposition  which  Cromwell  dreaded  was  not  that  which 
came  from  Lambert  and  his  adherents ;  it  was  that  which 
he  met  with  in  his  own  family,  and  from  men  the  most 
devoted  to  his  interests.  Fleetwood  had  married  his 
daughter,  and  Desborow  his  sister ;  yet  these  men  told 
him,  that  if  he  accepted  of  the  crown,  they  would  instantly 
throw  up  their  commissions,  and  render  it  impossible  for 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  329 

them  to  serve  him.  In  short,  it  is  said  that  a  general  mu- 
tiny of  the  army  was  justly  dreaded,  if  this  ambitious  pro- 
ject had  been  carried  into  execution  ;  and  therefore  Crom- 
well, after  long  doubt  and  perplexity,  was  at  last  obliged 
to  refuse  the  crown.  The  parliament,  however,  gave  him 
the  power  of  nominating  his  successor,  and  assigned  him 
a  perpetual  revenue  for  the  payment  of  the  fleet  and  army, 
and  the  support  of  the  civil  government. 

The  parliament  was  again  assembled,  and  the 
protector  endeavoured  to  maintain  the  appearance  i'aca 
of  a  civil  magistrate,  by  placing  no  guards  at  the 
door  of  either  house  ;  but  he  soon  found  how  incompatible 
liberty  is  with  a  military  usurpation.     The  commons  as- 
sumed the  power  of  re-admitting  those  members  whom  the 
council  had  formerly  excluded ;  and  an  incontestible  ma- 
jority declared  themselves  against  the  protector.     Dread- 
ing combinations  between  the  members  and  the  malcon- 
tents in  the  army,  Cromwell  determined  to  dissolve  the 
parliament  without  delay  ;  and  when  urged  by  Fleetwood 
and  others  of  his  friends  not  to  precipitate  himself  into  so 
rash  a  measure,  he  swore  by  the  living  God  that  they  should 
not  sit  a  moment  longer. 

These  distractions  at  home,  however,  did  not  render  the 
protector  inattentive  to  foreign  affairs.  The  Spaniards 
were  defeated  at  Dunes  by  the  combined  armies  of  France 
and  England  ;  and  Dunkirk  being  soon  after  surrendered, 
was  delivered  to  Cromwell.  He  committed  the  govern- 
ment of  that  important  place  to  Lockhart,  who  had  mar- 
ried his  niece,  and  was  his  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
France. 

These  successes  abroad  were  more  than  counterbalan- 
ced by  his  inquietudes  at  home.  The  royalists  and  pres- 
byterians  entered  into  a  conspiracy,  which  being  disco- 
vered, numbers  were  thrown  into  prison,  and  sir  Henry 
Slingsby  and  Dr.  Huett  were  condemned  to  be  beheaded. 
The  army  was  ripe  for  a  mutiny  ;  and  Fleetwood  and  his 
wife,  who  had  adopted  republican  principles,  began  to  es- 
trange themselves  from  Cromwell.  His  other  daughters 
were  no  less  prejudiced  in  favour  of  the  royal  cause ;  and 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Claypole,  his  peculiar  favourite,  destroy- 
ed all  his  enjoyments. 

All  composure  of  mind  seemed  now  for  ever  fled  from 
the  protector.     He  saw  nothing  around  him  but  treacfre- 
28* 


330  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

rous  friends  or  enraged  enemies  ;  and  death,  which  he  had 
so  often  braved  in  the  field,  haunted  him  in  every  scene  of 
business  or  repose.  Every  action  betrayed  the  terrors 
under  which  he  laboured.  He  never  moved  a  step  with- 
out guards ;  he  wore  armour  under  his  clothes ;  and  he 
seldom  slept  above  three  nights  together  in  the  same 
chamber. 

The  contagion  of  his  mind  began  to  affect  his  body. 
He  was  seized  with  a  slow  fever,  which  changed  into  a  ter- 
tian ague.  Dangerous  symptoms  soon  made  their  appear- 
ance. Casting  his  eyes  towards  that  future  existence, 
Which,  though  once  familiar  to  him,  had  been  considerably 
^obliterated  by  the  hurry  of  business,  Cromwell  asked  Good- 
Win,  one  of  his  preachers,  if  it  were  true  that  the  elect 
could  never  fall  or  suffer  final  reprobation?  "Nothing 
more  certain,"  replied  the  preacher.  "  Then  I  am  safe," 
said  the  protector,  "  for  I  am  sure  that  I  was  once  in  a 
state  of  grace." 

He  died  on  the  third  of  September,  a  day  which  he  had 
always  considered  as  propitious  to  him,  in  the  fifty-ninth 
year  of  his  age.  A  violent  tempest  which  immediately 
succeeded  his  death,  served  as  a  subject  of  discourse  to  the 
vulgar ;  and  his  partisans,  as  well  as  his  enemies,  endea- 
voured, by  forced  inferences,  to  interpret  this  event  as  a 
confirmation  of  their  particular  prejudices. 

The  private  conduct  of  Cromwell,  as  a  son,  a  husband, 
d.  father,  and  a  friend,  merits  praise  rather  than  censure ; 
and,  upon  the  whole,  his  character  was  a  compound  of  all 
the  virtues  and  all  the  vices  which  spring  from  violent  am- 
bition and  wild  fanaticism. 

Cromwell  was  surrounded  with  so  many  difficulties,  that 
it  was  thought  he  could  not  much  longer  have  extended 
his  usurped  administration  ;  but  when  that  powerful  hand 
was  removed,  which  conducted  the  government,  every  one 
expected  a  sudden  dissolution  of  the  baseless  fabric. 
Richard,  his  son,  possessed  no  talents  for  government,  and 
only  the  virtues  of  private  life ;  yet  the  council  recognized 
his  succession.  His  brother  Henry,  who  governed  Ireland 
with  popularity,  insured  him  the  obedience  of  that  king- 
dom; and  Monk,  who  was  much  attached  to  the  family 
of  Cromwell,  proclaimed  the  new  protector  in  Scotland. 
Above  ninety  addresses  from  the  counties  and  most  con- 


THE    COMMONWEALTH.  331 

siderable  corporations  congratulated  Richard  on  his 
accession ;  and  a  parliament  being  called,  all  the  ig/ro' 
commons  at  first,  without  hesitation,  signed  an  en- 
gagement not  to  alter  the  present  government. 

But  there  was  another  quarter  from  which  greater  dan 
gers  were  justly  apprehended.  The  most  considerable  of- 
ficers of  the  army,  with  Fleetwood  and  Lambert  at  their 
head,  were  entering  into  cabals  against  Richard.  The 
young  protector,  having  neither  resolution  nor  penetration, 
was  prevailed  on  to  give  his  consent  for  calling  a  general 
council  of  officers,  who  were  no  sooner  assembled,  than 
they  voted  a  remonstrance,  in  which  they  lamented  that  the 
good  old  cause,  as  they  termed  it,  was  neglected;  and  they 
proposed,  as  a  remedy,  that  the  whole  military  power  should- 
be  intrusted  to  some  person,  in  whom  they  might  all  con- 
fide. The  protector  was  justly  alarmed  at  these  move- 
ments among  the  officers;  and  some  of  his  partisans  offered 
to  put  an  end  to  these  intrigues  by  the  death  of  Lambert ; 
but  Richard  declared  that  he  would  not  purchase  power  by 
such  sanguinary  measures. 

The  parliament  was  no  less  alarmed  at  these  military 
cabals,  and  passed  a  vote,  that  there  should  be  no  general 
council  of  officers,  without  the  protector's  consent.  This 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  The  officers  hastened  to 
Richard,  and  demanded  the  dissolution  of  the  parliament. 
The  protector  wanted  the  resolution  to  deny,  and  possess- 
ed little  ability  to  resist  this  demand ;  and  he  soon  after 
signed  his  own  resignation  in  form.  Henry,  the  deputy  of 
Ireland,  was  endowed  with  the  same  moderate  disposition 
as  his  brother;  and  though  his  popularity  and  influence  in 
that  country  were  very  considerable,  he  quietly  resigned 
his  authority  and  returned  to  England. 

Thus  fell,  at  once,  the  protectorate  house  of  Cromwell ; 
but,  by  a  rare  fortune,  it  suffered  no  molestation.  Richard 
continued  to  possess  an  estate,  which  he  had  burdened  with 
a  debt  contracted  for  the  interment  of  his  father.  After 
the  restoration,  though  unmolested,  he  travelled  for  some 
years,  and  then  returning  to  England,  lived  to  an  extreme 
old  age.  He  was  beloved  for  his  social  virtues,  and  hap- 
pier in  tranquility  and  retirement  than  he  could  have  been 
by  the  applause  of  empty  fame  and  the  gratifications  of  the 
most  successful  ambition. 
\    The  council  of  officers,  in  whom  the  supreme  authority 


332  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

was  now  lodged,  agreed  to  revive  the  long  parliament* 
The  members  little  exceeded  seventy  in  number ;  but  they 
took  care  to  thwart  the  measures  of  the  officers ;  and  they 
appointed  Fleetwood  lieutenant-general  only  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  house. 

The  conduct  of  the  parliament  gave  great  disgust  to  the 
general-officers,  who  resolved  to  dissolve  an  assembly  by 
which  they  were  vehemently  opposed.  Accordingly,  Lam- 
bert drew  together  some  troops,  and  intercepting  the  mem- 
bers as  they  came  to  the  house,  sent  them  home  under  a 
military  escort. 

The  officers  now  found  themselves  again  in  possession 
of  supreme  power ;  but  to  save  appearances,  they  elected 
twenty-three  persons,  called  a  committee  of  safety,  which 
they  pretended  to  invest  with  sovereign  authority. 
Throughout  the  three  kingdoms  there  prevailed  nothing 
but  melancholy  fears  of  a  bloody  massacre  to  the  nobility 
and  gentry,  and  of  perpetual  servitude  to  the  rest  of  the 
people. 

But  amidst  these  gloomy  prospects,  a  means  was  prepa- 
ring for  the  king  to  mount  in  peace  the  throne  of  his  ances- 
tors. General  George  Monk,  to  whose  prudence  and  loy- 
alty the  restoration  of  the  monarchy  is  chiefly  to  be  ascri- 
bed, was  the  second  son  of  an  honourable  family  in  De- 
vonshire, but  somewhat  gone  to  decay.  He  had  betaken 
himself,  in  early  youth,  to  the  profession  of  arms ;  and  by 
his  humane  disposition  he  gained  the  good  will  of  the  sol- 
diers, who  usually  called  him  honest  George  Monk.  He 
was  remarkable  for  his  moderation ;  and,  from  the  can-' 
dour  of  his  behaviour,  he  fell  under  suspicion  of  the  royal- 
ists, and  was  suspended  for  a  time.  At  the  seige  of  Nant- 
wich,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  Fairfax,  and  sent  to  the 
tower,  where  he  endured,  about  two  years,  all  the  rigours 
of  poverty  and  confinement ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  the 
royalists  were  totally  subdued  that  he  recovered  his  liberty. 

Monk,  however  distressed,  had  always  refused  the  most 
inviting  offers  from  the  parliament ;  but  Cromwell,  sensi- 
ble of  his  merit,  prevailed  on  him  to  engage  in  the  wars 
against  the  Irish,  who  were  considered  as  rebels  both  by 
the  king  and  parliament.  He  afterwards  fought  in  Scot- 
land, and  on  the  reduction  of  that  kingdom,  was  left  with 
the  supreme  command.  In  that  capacity,  he  gave  satis- 
faction both  to  the  people  and  the  soldiery ;  and  foreseeing 


THE  COMMONWEALTH.  333 

that  the  good  will  of  the  army  might  eventually  be  of  great 
service  to  him,  he  cultivated  their  friendship  with  assiduity 
and  success. 

Hearing  that  Lambert  was  advancing  northward,  Monk 
sent  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  committee  of  safety ; 
but  his  chief  aim  was  to  gain  time,  and  relax  the  prepara- 
tions of  his  enemies.  In  the  mean  time,  the  nation  had 
fallen  into  anarchy.  While  Lambert's  forces  were  assem- 
bling at  Newcastle,  Hazelrig  and  Morley  took  possession 
of  Portsmouth  for  the  parliament;  and  admiral  Lawson, 
entering  the  river  Thames,  declared  on  the  same  side. 
The  city  of  London  established  a  kind  of  separate  govern- 
ment within  itself;  and  Fleetwood  was  unable  to  support 
the  baseless  fabric,  which  was  every  where  falling  to  pieces. 

Monk,  who  had  passed  the  Tweed,  though  informed  of 
the  restoration  of  parliament,  continued  to  advance  at  the 
head  of  about  six  thousand  men.  In  all  the  counties 
through  which  he  passed,  the  gentry  flocked  to  him  with 
addresses,  requesting  that  he  would  assist  in  restoring  the 
nation  to  peace  and  tranquility ;  but  he  affected  not  to  fa- 
vour them. 

Monk  and  his  army  soon  reached  the  metropolis. 
The  common-council  of  London  having  refused  to  i^rj 
submit  to  an  assessment,  and  declared  that  till  a 
free  parliament  imposed  taxes  they  would  make  no  pay- 
ment, Monk  was  ordered  to  march  into  the  city,  and  seize 
twelve  persons  the  most  obnoxious  to  the  parliament. 
With  this  order  he  immediately  complied,  and  apprehended 
as  many  as  he  could  of  the  proscribed  persons ;  but  soon 
reflecting  that  by  this  action  he  had  broke  through  the  cau- 
tious ambiguity  which  he  had  hitherto  maintained,  and  ren- 
dered himself  the  tool  of  a  parliament  whose  tyranny  had 
long  been  odious  to  the  nation,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
house,  requiring  them,  in  the  name  of  the  citizens,  soldiers, 
and  whole  commonwealth,  to  issue  writs  within  a  week 
for  the  filling  of  their  assembly,  and  to  fix  the  time  for 
their  own  dissolution  and  the  meeting  of  a  new  parlia- 
ment. He  then  marched  with  his  army  into  the  city,  and 
requesting  the  mayor  to  summon  a  common  council,  he 
apologized  for  his  late  conduct,  and  desired  that  they 
might  mutually  plight  their  faith  for  a  strict  union  be- 
tween the  city  and  army,  in  everv  measure  which  might 
conduce  to  the  settlement  of  the  commonwealth. 


334  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  joy  which  this 
intelligence  conveyed ;  and  the  funeral  of  the  parliament 
was  celebrated  by  the  populace  with  marks  of  hatred  and 
derision.  The  secluded  members  were  invited  by  the  gen- 
eral to  enter  the  house,  arid  appeared  to  be  the  majority. 
Votes  were  passed  favourable  to  the  views  of  Monk ;  and 
writs  were  issued  for  the  immediate  assembling  of  a  new 
parliament. 

When  the  parliament  met,  sir  Harbottle  Grimstone,  a 
gentleman  well  affected  to  the  king's  service,  was  chosen 
speaker ;  and  the  general  having  sounded  the  inclinations 
of  the  assembly,  gave  directions  to  the  president  of  the 
council  to  inform  them,  that  one  sir  John  Granville,  a  ser- 
vant of  the  king,  was  now  at  the  door  with  a  letter  to  the 
commons.  This  intelligence  excited  the  loudest  accla- 
mations ;  Granville  was  called  in ;  and,  without  one  dis- 
senting voice,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  an 
answer. 

The  king's  declaration,  which  was  immediately  publish- 
ed, offered  a  general  amnesty,  with  the  exception  only  of 
such  persons  as  should  be  made  by  parliament ;  it  promi- 
sed liberty  of  conscience ;  and  assured  the  soldiers  of  all 
their  arrears,  with  a  continuance  of  the  same  pay. 

The  lords,  perceiving  the  spirit  by  which  the  kingdom, 
as  well  as  the  commons,  was  animated,  hastened  to  rein- 
state themselves  in  their  ancient  authority;  and  the  two 
houses  attended,  while  the  king  was  proclaimed  with  great 
solemnity  in  Palace-yard,  at  Whitehall,  and  at  Temple-bar. 
A  committee  of  lords  and  commons  was  despatched  to 
invite  his  majesty  to  return,  and  take  possession  of  the 
throne ;  and  the  king,  embarking  at  Scheveling,  landed  at 
Dover,  where  he  was  met  bv  Monk,  whom  he  cordially 
embraced.  On  the  29th  of  May,  which  was  also  his  birth- 
day, Charles  entered  London,  amidst  the  most  joyful  con- 
gratulations. 

CHAP.  VI. 

The  reign  of  Charles  II. 
When  Charles  II.  ascended  the  throne,  he  was  thirty 
years  of  age.     He  possessed  a  vigorous  constitu- 

1  fifift  t*on'  a  **ne  snaPe»  a  man'y  figure,  and  a  graceful 
air ;  and  though  his  features  were  harsh,  yet  his 


CHARLES   II.  335 

countenance  was  lively  and  engaging.  No  prince  ever 
received  a  crown  with  the  more  cordial  attachment  of  his 
subjects  ;  and  the  ease  and  affability  of  his  manners  were 
well  calculated  to  confirm  this  popularity. 

In  the  choice  of  his  ministers,  the  king  gave  great  satis- 
faction to  the  nation.  Sir  Edward  Hyde,  created  earl  of 
Clarendon,  was  chancellor  and  prime-minister ;  the  duke 
of  Ormond,  steward  of  the  household  ;  the  earl  of  South- 
ampton, high-treasurer ;  and  sir  Edward  Nicholas,  secre- 
tary of  state.  Admiral  Montague,  who  had  carried  a  fleet 
to  receive  his  majesty,  without  waiting  for  the  orders  of 
parliament,  was  created  earl  of  Sandwich;  and  Monk, 
who,  without  effusion  of  blood,  by  his  cautious  and  disin- 
terested conduct,  settled  the  affairs  of  the  three  kingdoms, 
and  restored  his  injured  sovereign  to  the  vacant  throne, 
was  created  duke  of  Albemarle.  Into  the  king's  council 
were  admitted  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  nation,  with- 
out regard  to  former  distinctions ;  the  presbyterians, 
equally  with  the  royalists,  shared  this  honour. 

All  judicial  proceedings,  transacted  in  the  name  of  the 
commonwealth,  or  protector,  were  ratified  by  a  new  law ; 
and  the  act  of  indemnity  passed  both  houses,  and  soon  re- 
ceived the  royal  assent.  The  regicides,  with  Vane  and 
Lambert,  were  alone  excepted ;  and  all  who  had  sitten 
in  any  illegal  high  court  of  justice,  were  declared  incapa- 
ble of  bearing  any  office  in  the  state. 

The  next  business  was  the  settlement  of  the  king's  re- 
venue. They  granted  him  one  hundred  thousand  pounds 
a  year,  in  lieu  of  the  tenures  of  wards  and  liveries,  which 
had  long  been  considered  as  a  grievous  burden  by  the  no- 
bility and  gentry  ;  and  they  voted,  that  the  settled  revenue 
of  the  crown,  for  all  charges,  should  amount  to  the  annual 
sum  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  pounds ;  but, 
still  jealous  of  liberty,  they  scarcely  assigned  sufficient 
funds  for  two  thirds  of  that  sum  ;  and  thus  left  the  care  of 
fulfilling  their  engagements  to  the  future  consideration  of 
parliament. 

The  next  object  which  interested  the  public,  was  the 
trial  and  condemnation  of  the  regicides.  Harrison,  Scot, 
Carew,  Clement,  Jones,  Scrope,  Axtel,  Hacker,  Coke,  and 
Hugh  Peters,  suffered  with  the  confidence  of  martyrs. 
The  rest  of  the  king's  judges  were  reprieved. 

After  the  parliament  had  sitten  about  two  months,  the 


336  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

king  dissolved  that  assembly  in  a  speech  full  of  the  most 
gracious  expressions.  The  army  was  also  disbanded  ;  and 
no  more  troops  were  retained  than  a  few  guards  and  gar- 
risons, about  one  thousand  horse  and  four  thousand  foot. 
This,  however,  was  the  first  appearance  of  a  regular 
standing  army,  under  the  monarchy,  in  this  island. 

Clarendon,  whose  daughter,  Ann  Hyde,  was  now  mar- 
ried to  the  duke  of  York,  by  his  wisdom,  his  justice,  and 
his  prudence,  equally  promoted  the  interest  of  the  king 
and  the  people ;  but  his  conduct  in  the  management  of 
ecclesiastical  affairs  has  been  censured  by  many.  Charles 
having  observed  that  presbyterianism  was  not  a  religion 
for  a  gentleman,  it  was  resolved  to  restore  prelacy  in'  Scot- 
land. Sharpe,  who  had  been  commissioned  by  the  presby- 
terians  in  Scotland  to  manage  their  interests  with  the  king, 
was  persuaded  to  abandon  his  party,  and,  as  a  reward  for 
his  tergiversation,  was  created  archbishop  of  St.  Andrews. 
The  conduct  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  was  chiefly  intrusted 
to  him ;  and  he  became  extremely  obnoxious  to  his  former 
friends. 

In  England,  the  new  parliament,  laying  hold  of  the  pre- 
judices which  prevailed  among  the  presbyterian  sect,  in 
order  to  eject  them  from  their  livings,  required  that  every 
clergyman  should  be  reordained,  if  he  had  not  before  re- 
ceived episcopal  ordination  ;  should  declare  his  as- 
lfifi2  sent  to  every  tnmg  contained  in  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer ;  should  take  the  oath  of  canonical  obe- 
dience ;  should  abjure  the  solemn  league  and  covenant ; 
and  should  renounce  the  principle  of  taking  arms  against 
the  king,  on  any  pretence  whatsoever.  This  act,  and 
others  which  passed  about  the  same  time,  have  been  the 
best  supports  of  the  state,  by  joining  it  closely  with  the 
church.  It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  by  these 
enactments  the  king's  promises  of  toleration  and  indul- 
gence to  tender  consciences  was  entirely  eluded  or  broken. 
About  two  thousand  of  the  clergy,  in  one  day,  relinquished 
their  cures,  and  sacrificed  their  interest  to  their  principles 

Before  the  parliament  rose,  the  court  was  employed  in 
preparing  for  the  reception  of  the  princess  Catherine  of 
Portugal,  to  whom  the  king  was  betrothed,  and  with  whom 
he  received  five  hundred  thousand  pounds,  and  the  two 
fortresses  of  Tangier  in  Africa,  and  Bombay  in  the  East 
Indies,  by  way  of  dowry.     This  marriage,  however,  was 


CHARLES   II.  337 

far  from  proving  auspicious,  as  the  queen  was  never  able 
to  win  the  affections  of  her  husband. 

Charles,  pressed  by  pecuniary  difficulties,  in  order  to 
raise  money,  as  well  as  to  save  expenses,  sold  Dunkirk  to 
France,  for  four  hundred  thousand  pounds.  To  this  mea- 
sure he  was  advised  by  Clarendon.  The  value  of  this  ac- 
quisition was  so  little  understood  by  the  French  king,  that 
he  thought  he  had  made  a  hard  bargain. 

Charles  issued  a  declaration,  under  pretence  of  mitiga- 
ting the  rigours  contained  in  the  act  of  uniformity ;  but  the 
foundation  of  this  measure  was  of  a  very  different  nature. 
The  king,  during  his  exile,  had  imbibed  strong  prejudices 
in  favour  of  the  catholic  religion ;  and  though  he  fluctua- 
ted during  his  whole  reign,  between  irreligion,  which  he 
more  openly  professed,  and  popery,  to  which  he  retained 
a  strong  propensity,  his  brother  the  duke  of  York  had 
entered  with  zeal  into  all  the  principles  of  that  theological 
party,  anpl  by  his  application  to  business,  which  Charles 
disliked,  had  acquired  a  great  ascendancy  over  him.  On 
pretence  of  easing  the  protestant  dissenters,  they  agreed 
upon  a  plan  for  introducing  a  general  toleration,  and  giving 
the  catholics  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  at  least  in 
private  houses.  The  parliament,  however,  refused  their 
concurrence  in  this  measure  ;  and,  in  order  to  de- 
prive  the  catholics  of  all  hopes,  the  two  houses  i^™ 
agreed  in  a  remonstrance  against  them.  The  king 
insisted  no  farther  at  present  on  this  project  of  indulgence ; 
and  he  issued  a  vague  proclamation  against  Jesuits  and 
Romish  priests.  In  return  for  this,  the  commons  voted 
him  a  supply  of  four  subsidies  ;  and  this  was  the  last  time 
that  taxes  were  levied  in  that  manner. 

In  proportion  as  the  king  found  himself  established  on 
the  throne,  he  began  to  alienate  himself  from  Clarendon, 
whose  character  was  so  little  suited  to  his  own.  Charles's 
partiality  for  the  catholics  was  always  opposed  by  this 
minister,  who,  conscious  of  integrity  and  of  faithful  ser- 
vices, disdained  to  enter  into  any  connexion  with  the  royal 
mistresses. 

The  irregular  pleasures  of  Charles,  and  the  little  regard 
he  paid  to  decency  in  his  public  mistresses,  could  not  but 
give  offence  to  the  nation.  It  was  found  that  the  virtues 
which  he  possessed  were  more  showy  than  substantial ;  that 
Kis  bounty  proceeded  rather  from  facility  of  disposition  than 


338  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

generosity ;  that  while  he  seemed  affable  to  all,  his  heart 
was  little  susceptible  of  friendship ;  and  that  he  secretly 
entertained  a  bad  opinion  of  mankind,  no  proof  that  he 
was  actuated  by  better  motives.  But  what  was  most  inju- 
rious to  the  king's  reputation,  was  the  neglect  of  his  own 
and  his  father's  adherents,  whom  he  suffered  to  remain  in 
poverty  and  distress,  aggravated  by  the  cruel  disappoint- 
ment of  their  sanguine  hopes,  and  by  seeing  favour  and 
preferment  bestowed  on  their  most  inveterate  foes.  The 
act  of  indemnity  and  oblivion  was  generally  denominated, 
and  in  many  cases  too  justly,  an  act  of  indemnity  to  the 
i  king's  enemies,  and  of  oblivion  to  his  friends. 

The  king  having  demanded  a  repeal  of  the  triennial  act, 
the  parliament  abrogated  the  law,  and  satisfied  themselves 
with  a  general  clause,  that  parliaments  should  not  be  in- 
augurated above  three  years  at  most.  The  commons  like- 
wise passed  a  vote,  that  the  indignities  offered  to  the  Eng- 
lish, by  the  subjects  of  the  United  States,  were  the  great- 
est obstructions  to  all  foreign  trade.  This  was  the  first 
open  step  towards  a  war  with  the  Dutch.  Charles  did  not 
confine  himself  to  memorials  and  remonstrances.  Sir 
Robert  Holmes  was  secretly  despatched  with  a  squadron 
of  twenty-two  ships  to  the  coast  of  Africa,  where  he  ex- 
pelled the  Dutch  from  cape  Corse,  and  seized  their  settle- 
ments at  cape  Verd  and  in  the  isle  of  Goree.  He  then 
sailed  to  America,  where  he  possessed  himself  of  Nova 
Belgia,  since  called  New- York,  which  James  the  First 
had  granted  by  patent  to  the  earl  of  Stirling,  but  which 
kad  never  been  planted  except  by  the  Hollanders. 

When  the  States  complained  of  these  hostile  measures, 
tfoe  king  pretended  to  be  ignorant  of  Holmes's  enterprise  ; 
and  the  Dutch,  finding  their  applications  for  redress  likely 
to  be  eluded,  despatched  De  Ruyter  with  a  fleet,  to  reta- 
liate on  the  English.     De  Ruyter  met  with  no  op- 
Ififii  position  in  Guinea.     All  the  new  acquisitions  of  the 
English,  except  cape  Corse,  were  recovered  from 
them ;  and  they  were  also  dispossessed  of  some  old  set- 
tlements. 

The  Dutch,  however,  tried  every  expedient  before  they 
would  proceed  to  extremities  ;  and  their  measures  were  at 
that  time  directed  by  John  De  Witt,  a  minister  equally 
eminent  for  ability  and  integrity.     He  caused  a  navy  to  be 


CHARLES   II.  339 

equipped,  surpassing  any  that  had  ever  before  been  pre- 
pared in  the  ports  of  Holland. 

As  soon  as  the  intelligence  arrived  of  De  Ruyter's  en- 
terprises, Charles  declared  war  against  the  States.  The 
English  fleet  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
tfifi^  sa^>  besides  fire-ships  and  ketches,  and  was  com- 
manded by  the  duke  of  York,  and  under  him  by 
prince  Rupert,  and  the  earl  of  Sandwich.  Obdam,  the 
Dutch  admiral,  had  nearly  an  equal  force,  and  on  meeting 
he  declined  not  the  combat.  In  the  heat  of  action,  when 
engaged  in  close  fight  with  the  duke  of  York,  Obdam's 
ship  blew  up.  This  accident  disconcerted  the  Dutch,  who 
fled  towards  their  own  coast.  Tromp  alone,  son  of  the 
famous  admiral  killed  in  the  former  war,  bravely  sustained 
with  his  squadron  the  efforts  of  the  English,  and  protected 
the  rear  of  his  countrymen.  The  vanquished  had  nine- 
teen ships  sunk  or  taken  ;  the  victors  lost  only  one.  In 
this  action  the  duke  of  York  behaved  with  great  bravery ; 
the  earl  of  Falmouth,  lord  Muskerry,  and  Mr.  Boyle, 
were  killed  by  one  shot,  at  his  side,  and  covered  him  with 
their  brains  and  gore. 

The  abilities  of  De  Witt  were  employed  in  reviving  the 
declining  courage  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  he  soon  reme- 
died all  the  disorders  occasioned  by  the  late  misfortune. 
The  king  of  France,  who  was  engaged  in  a  defensive  alli- 
ance with  the  States,  resolved  to  support  the  Dutch  in  this 
unequal  contest. 

The  English,  however,  experienced  a  more  dreadful  ca- 
lamity than  even  that  of  a  war.  The  plague  had  broken 
out  in  London,  and  carried  off  ninety  thousand  persons  ; 
and  the  king  was  obliged  to  summon  a  parliament  at 
Oxford. 

The  king  of  France  had  ordered  his  admiral,  the  duke 
of  Beaufort,  to  proceed  from  Toulon,  and  support  his 
allies ;  and  the  French  squadron,  consisting  of  above  forty 
sail,  was  now  supposed  to  be  entering  the  channel.     The 
Dutch  fleet,  under  the  command  of  De  Ruyter,  to 
the  number  of  seventy-six  sail,  was  at  sea,  in  order  ^  \„~ 
to  join  the  French.     The  duke  of  Albemarle  and 
prince  Rupert  commanded  the  English  fleet,  which  did 
not  exceed  seventy-four  sail.     Albemarle,  who  despised 
the  enemy  too  much,  despatched  prince  Rupert  with  twenty 
ships  to  oppose  the  duke  of  Beaufort ;  and  with  the  re- 


340  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

mainder,  lie  set  sail  to  give  battle  to  the  Dutch.  Never 
did  a  more  memorable  engagement  take  place ;  whether 
we  consider  its  long  duration,  or  the  desperate  courage 
with  which  it  was  fought. 

On  the  first  day  the  wind  blew  so  hard  that  the  English 
could  not  use  their  lower  tier  of  guns  ;  and  their  sails  and 
rigging  were  injured  by  the  Dutch  chain-shot,  a  new  in- 
vention ascribed  to  De  Witt ;  but  the  battle  was  contested 
till  darkness  parted  the  combatants.  On  the  second  day, 
during  the  action,  sixteen  fresh  ships  joined  the- Dutch 
fleet,  while  the  English  had  no  more  than  twenty-eight  in 
a  situation  for  fighting.  This  obliged  Albemarle  to  re- 
treat towards  the  English  coast,  which  he  did  with  an  un- 
daunted countenance,  protesting  to  the  earl  of  Ossory, 
son  to  the  duke  of  Ormond,  that  he  would  rather  blow  up 
his  ship  and  perish  than  strike  to  the  enemy.  The  Dutch 
had  come  up  with  the  English,  and  were  about  to  renew 
the  engagement,  when  the  squadron  of  prince  Rupert  was 
descried,  crowding  all  their  sail  to  reach  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion. Next  morning  the  battle  began  afresh,  and  conti- 
nued with  great  violence  till  suspended  by  a  mist.  The 
English  retired  first  into  their  own  harbours. 

De  Ruvter  now  posted  himself  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Thames ;  but  the  English,  under  prince  Rupert  and  Al- 
bemarle., were  not  long  in  coming  to  attack  him.  This 
engagement  was  again  fierce  and  obstinate,  and  three  Dutch 
admirals  fell ;  but  De  Ruyter  maintained  the  combat,  and 
kept  his  station,  till  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  contest. 
Next  day,  finding  the  Dutch  fleet  scattered,  he  was  obliged 
to  submit  to  a  retreat,  which  yet  he  conducted  with  so 
much  skill  as  to  render  it  equally  honourable  to  himself 
as  the  greatest  victory.  Full  of  indignation,  however,  at 
yielding  the  superiority  to  the  English,  he  frequently  ex- 
claimed, "  my  God  !  what  a  wretch  I  am  !  among  so  many 
thousand  bullets,  is  there  not  one  to  put  an  end  to  my 
miserable  life  ?"  The  Dutch,  by  the  greatest  exertions, 
saved  themselves  in  their  harbours  ;  and  the  English  now 
rode  incontestible  masters  of  the  sea. 

A  calamity,  however,  happened  in  London,  which  oc- 
casioned the  greatest  consternation.  A  most  dreadful  fire 
broke  out  in  the  city,  and  spreading  in  spite  of  every  en- 
deavour to  check  its  destructive  progress,  consumed  about 
four  hundred  streets  and  thirteen  thousand  houses.     Du 


CHARLES   II.  341 

ring  three  days  and  nights  the  (ire  continued  to  advance ; 
and  it  was  at  last  extinguished  only  by  the  blowing  up  of 
houses.  Popular  prejudices  ascribed  this  calamity  to  the 
catholics ;  and  though  no  proof  ever  appeared  to  authorize 
such  a  calumny,  it  is  sanctioned  by  the  inscription  on  the 
monument,  which  records  the  conflagration. 

As  the  Dutch  were  every  day  becoming  more  formida- 
ble, Charles  began  to  be  sensible,  that  all  the  ends  for  which 
the  war  had  been  undertaken  were  likely  to  prove  abor- 
tive. This  induced  him  to  make  the  first  advances  towards 
an  accommodation,  and  matters  were  in  a  state  of  for- 
wardness, when  the  king,  by  imprudently  discontinuing  his 
preparations,  exposed  England  to  a  great  affront,  and  even 
to  great  danger. 

The  penetrating  mind  of  De  Witt  discovered  the  oppor- 
tunity for  retrieving  the  honour  of  the  States ;  and  he  em- 
braced it.  The  Dutch  fleet,  under  De  Ruyter,  appeared 
in  the  Thames,  and  bursting  the  chain  which  had  been 
drawn  across  the  Med  way,  advanced  as  far  as  Upnore 
castle,  and  burnt  several  ships.  They  next  sailed  to  Ports- 
mouth and  Plymouth,  and  insulted  Harwich.  The  whole 
coast  was  in  alarm  ;  and  had  the  French  joined  the  Dutch 
fleet  and  invaded  England,  the  most  serious  consequences 
might  have  ensued.  The  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Breda, 
however,  save  England  from  this  danger ;  and  the  acqui- 
sition of  New-York  was  the  principal  advantage  which  the 
English  reaped  from  a  war,  in  which  the  national  charac- 
ter for  bravery  had  appeared  with  so  much  lustre. 

To  appease  the  people  for  their  disappointments,  some 
sacrifice  was  necessary ;  and  the  prejudices  of  the  nation 
pointed  out  the  victim.  The  sale  of  Dunkirk,  the  disgrace 
at  Chatham,  and  the  unsuccessful  conclusion  of  the  war, 
were  all  attributed  to  Clarendon.  The  king  himself,  who 
had  always  revered  rather  than  loved  the  chancellor,  was 
glad  to  be  freed  from  a  minister,  who,  amidst  the  dissolute 
manners  of  the  court,  maintained  an  inflexible  dignity,  and 
would  not  suffer  his  master's  licentious  pleasures  to  pass 
without  reprehension.  The  memory  of  his  former  services 
could  not  delay  his  fall ;  and  the  great  seal  was  taken 
from  him,  and  given  to  sir  Orlando  Bridgman. 

The  duke  of  York  in  vain  exerted  his  interest  in  behalf 
of  his  father-in-law.  The  commons  voted  an  impeach- 
ment against  him  ;  and  Clarendon,  finding  that  neither  his 
129* 


34£  HISTORY   OP    ENGLAND. 

innocence  nor  his  past  services  were  sufficient  to  protect 
him,  retired  into  France,  where  he  lived  six  years  after  the 
parliament  had  decreed  his  banishment.  He  employed 
his  leisure  chiefly  in  reducing  to  order  the  history  of  the 
civil  war,  for  which  he  had  before  collected  materials,  and 
which  is  a  performance  that  does  honour  to  his  memory. 
The  king's  councils,  which  had  always  been  ne- 

1670  &uSent  an<*  fluctuating,  now  became  actually  crimi- 
nal. Men,  in  whose  honour  and  integrity  the  na- 
tion confided,  were  excluded  from  any  deliberations  ;  and 
the  whole  secret  of  government  was  intrusted  to  five  per- 
sons, Clifford,  Ashley,  Buckingham,  Arlington,  and  Lau- 
derdale, called  the  cabal,  a  word  which  the  initial  letters 
of  their  names  happened  to  compose. 

The  dark  counsels  of  the  cabal,  though  from  the  first 
they  gave  anxiety  to  all  men  of  reflection,  were  not  suffi- 
ciently known  but  by  the  event.  They  inspired  the  king 
with  a  jealousy  of  parliaments,  anjl  advised  him  to  recover 
that  authority  in  the  nation,  which  his  predecessors,  du- 
ring so  many  ages,  had  possessed  ;  and  they  insinuated  to 
Charles,  that  it  would  be  for  his  interest  to  detach  him- 
self from  the  triple  alliance,  not  long  before  concluded 
between  England,  Holland  and  Sweden,  and  form  a  close 
intimacy  with  France.  It  was,  however,  by  the  artifices  of 
his  sister,  the  duchess  of  Orleans,  that  the  king  was  pre- 
vailed on  to  relinquish  the  most  settled  maxims  of  honour 
and  policy,  and  to  finish  his  engagements  with  the  French 
monarch,  as  well  for  the  destruction  of  Holland,  as  for  a 
subsequent  change  of  religion  in  England. 

About  this  time,  Blood,  a  disbanded  officer  of  the  pro- 
tector's, who  had  been  attainted  for  engaging  in  a  conspi- 
racy in  Ireland,  meditated  revenge  on  the  duke  of  Ormond, 
the  lord-lieutenant.  He  seized  the  duke  in  the  streets  of 
London,  but  Ormond  was  saved  by  his  servants.  Buck- 
ingham was  at  first  suspected  of  being  the  author  of  this 
attempt ;  and  the  marquis  of  Ossory  coming  to  court,  and 
seeing  Buckingham  near  the  king,  said  to  him,  "  My  lord, 
I  know  well  that  you  are  at  the  bottom  of  the  late  attempt 
upon  my  father ;  but,  I  give  you  warning,  that  if  by  any 
means  he  come  to  a  violent  end,  I  shall  consider  you  as 
the  assassin,  and  wherever  I  meet  you,  I  will  pistol  you, 

(hough  you  stood  behind  the  king's  chair ;  and  I  tell  you 


CHARLES    II.  343 

lis  in  his  majesty's  presence,  that  you  may  be  sure  I  will 
not  fail  in  the  performance." 

Soon  after,  Blood  formed  the  design  of  carrying  off  the 
Crown  and  regalia  from  the  tower,  and  was  very  near  suc- 
ceeding in  this  enterprise.  Being  secured,  however,  and 
examined,  he  refused  to  name  his  accomplices.  ••  The 
fear  of  death,"  he  said,  "  shall  never  force  me  either  to 
deny  a  guilt  or  betray  a  friend."  The  king  was  moved 
by  an  idle  curiosity  to  see  a  person  so  remarkable  for  his 
courage  and  his  crimes.  Blood  now  considered  himself 
sure  of  pardon  ;  and  he  told  Charles,  that  he  had  been  en- 
gaged with  others  to  shoot  him,  but  that  his  heart  had  been 
checked  with  the  awe  of  majesty  at  the  moment  of  execu- 
tion. He  added,  that  his  associates  had  bound  themselves 
by  the  strictest  oaths  to  revenge  the  death  of  any  one  of 
the  confederacy.  Whether  the  king  was  influenced  by 
fear  or  admiration,  he  pardoned  the  villain,  and  granted 
him  an  estate  of  five  hundred  pounds  a  year  in  Ireland ; 
while  old  Edwards,  the  keeper  of  the  jewel-office,  who 
had  been  wounded  in  defending  the  crown  and  regalia, 
was  forgotten  and  neglected. 

Under  pretence  of  maintaining  the  triple  league,  which 
at  that  very  time  he  had  resolved  to  break,  Charles  obtain- 
ed a  large  supply  from  the  commons.  This,  however,  was 
soon  exhausted  by  debts  and  expenses  ;  and,  as  it  seemed 
dangerous  to  venture  on  levying  money  without  consent 
of  parliament,  the  king  declared  that  the  staff  of  treasurer 
was  ready  for  any  one  who  could  devise  the  means  of  sup- 
plying his  present  necessities.  Ashley  dropped  a  hint  to 
Clifford,  which  the  latter  adopted  and  carried  to  the  king, 
who  granted  him  the  promised  reward,  and  also  a  peerage, 
for  what  ought  to  have  brought  him  to  the  gallows.  This 
expedient  was  the  shutting  up  of  the  exchequer,  and  re- 
taining all  the  payments  which  should  be  made  into  it.* 

*  It  may  be  necessary  to  observe,  that  bankers  used  to  carry  their 
money  to  the  exchequer,  and  advance  it  upon  the  security  of  the 
funds,  by  which  they  were  afterwards  reimbursed,  when  the  money 
was  levied  on  the  public.  The  bankers,  by  this  traffic,  got  eight  per 
cent,  or  more,  for  sums  which  had  either  been  assigned  to  them 
without  interest,  or  which  they  had  borrowed  at  six  per  cent. ;  pro- 
fits which  they  dearly  paid  for,  by  this  egregious  breach  of  public 
faith.  The  measure  was  so  suddenly  taken,  that  none  had  warning 
of.  the  danger.    A  general  confusion  prevailed  in  the  city,  followed 


344  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

This  breach  of  domestic  honour  was  followed  by  foreign 
transactions  of  a  similar  complexion.     On  the  most 
i'a?i  ^se  anc^  frlvcuoas  pretexts,  Charles  issued  a  de- 
claration  of  war  against  the  Dutch ;  and  this  was 
seconded  by  another  from  Louis  XIV.     To  oppose  this 
formidable  confederacy,  De  Witt  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost ;  but  his  merits  had  begotten  envy,  and  the  popular 
affection  began  to  display  itself  in  favour  of  William  III. 
prince  of  Orange,  then  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his 
age,  whom  De  Witt  himself  had  instructed  in  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  government  and   sound  policy,  and  who  was 
brought  forward  as  his  rival. 

The  struggle  between  the  two  factions  retarded  every 
measure.  However,  at  length,  a  raw  army  of  seventy 
thousand  men  was  raised,  and  the  prince  was  appointed 
both  general  and  admiral  of  the  commonwealth ;  but  his 
partisans  were  still  unsatisfied,  as  long  as  the  perpetual 
edict  remained  in  force,  by  which  he  was  excluded  from 
the  stadtholderate. 

Devoted  solely  to  the  interests  of  his  country,  De  Witt 
disdained  all  party-spirit,  and  hastened  the  equipment  of 
a  fleet,  which  put  to  sea  under  the  command  of  De  Ruyter, 
who  was  strongly  attached  to  him.  This  armament  con- 
sisted of  ninety-one  ships  of  war,  and  forty-four  fire-ships ; 
and  with  these  De  Ruyter  surprised  at  Solebay  the  com- 
bined fleets  of  France  and  England.  The  earl  of  Sand- 
wich had  warned  the  duke  of  York  of  his  danger,  and  re- 
ceived only  for  answer,  that  there  was  more  of  caution 
than  of  courage  in  his  apprehensions;  but  on  the  appear- 
ance of  the  qnemy,  he  alone,  with  his  squadron,  was  pre- 
pared for  action.  Sandwich  commanded  the  van,  and 
rushed  into  battle  with  the  Dutch.  He  beat  off  one  ship, 
and  sunk  another.  He  also  destroyed  three  fire-ships, 
which  endeavoured  to  grapple  with  him ;  and  though  his 
own  vessel  was  torn  almost  in  pieces  with  shot,  and  nearly 
six  hundred  out  of  a  thousand  men  lay  dead  on  the  deck, 
he  still  continued  the  contest.  Another  fire-ship,  how- 
ever, having  laid  hold  of  his  vessel,  her  destruction  was 

by  the  ruin  of  many.  Distress  every  where  took  place,  with  a  stag- 
nation of  commerce,  by  which  the  public  was  universally  affected  ; 
and  men,  full  of  the  most  dismal  apprehensions,  were  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  such  unprecedented  and  iniquitous  councils,  by  which 
f  he  public  credit  was  destroyed. 


CHARLES   II.  345 

new  inevitable,  and  he  was  advised  by  his  captain  to  re- 
tile  ;  but  he  preferred  death  to  the  appearance  of  desert- 
ing his  post. 

During  this  fierce  engagement  with  Sandwich,  De  Ruy- 
ter  attacked  the  duke  of  York,  who  fought  with  such  fury 
for  above  two  hours,  that  of  thirty -two  actions,  in  which  the 
Dutch  admiral  had  been  engaged,  he  declared  this  was 
the  most  severe.  The  battle  continued  till  night,  when 
the  Dutch  retired,  and  were  not  followed  by  the  English, 
and  the  loss  sustained  on  both  sides  was  nearly  equal. 

Louis  advanced  with  his  troops  into  Holland,  and  over- 
ran the  country  almost  without  opposition.  Amsterdam 
alone  seemed  to  retain  some  courage.  The  sluices  were 
opened,  and  the  neighbouring  country  laid  under  water. 
All  the  provinces  now  followed  the  example,  and  scrupled 
not,  in  this  extremity,  to  restore  to  the  sea  those  fertile 
fields  which  had  formerly  been  won  from  it. 

The  combined  potentates,  finding  at  last  some  appear- 
ance of  opposition,  endeavoured  to  seduce  the  prince  of 
Orange,  who,  in  consequence  of  the  murder  of  De  Witt, 
had  obtained  the  whole  ascendancy  in  public  affairs.  They 
offered  him  the  sovereignty  of  Holland,  and  the  protection 
of  England  and  France,  to  insure  him  as  well  against  fo- 
reign invasion,  as  the  insurrection  of  his  own  subjects. 
All  proposals,  however,  were  generously  rejected ;  and, 
when  Buckingham  urged  the  inevitable  destruction  that 
hung  over  the  United  Provinces,  and  asked  him,  whether 
he  did  not  see  that  the  commonwealth  was  ruined,  he  re- 
plied, "there  is  one  certain  means  by  which  I  can  be  sure 
never  to  see  my  country's  ruin ;  I  will  die  in  the  last  ditch." 

In  the  mean  time,  the  other  nations  of  Europe  regarded 
the  subjectiqn  of  Holland  as  the  forerunner  of  their  own 
slavery.  The  emperor  began  to  put  himself  in  motion ; 
and  Spain  sent  some  forces  to  the  assistance  of  the  States ; 
but  the  ally  on  which  the  Dutch  chiefly  relied  for  support, 
was  the  English  parliament,  which  the  king's  necessities 
at  last  obliged  him  to  assemble.  The  parliament,  however, 
granted  a  supply,  but  refused  to  express  the  smallest  ap- 
probation of  the  war ;  and  they  afforded  Charles  the  pros- 
pect of  this  supply,  only  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  redress  of  grievances. 

The  money  granted  by  parliament  served  to  equip  a 
fleet,  of  which  prince  Rupert  was  declared  admiral ;  for 


346  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  duke  of  York  was  set  aside  by  the  test  act,  which 
passed  during  the  present  session.  Three  different,  but 
indecisive  actions,  were  fought  at  sea ;  the  last  was  the 
most  obstinate.  The  victory,  however,  in  this  battle,  was 
as  doubtful  as  in  all  the  actions  fought  during  the  pre- 
sent war. 

The  parliament  of  England  being  again  assembled,  dis- 
covered greater  symptoms  of  jealousy  than  before,  and  re- 
monstrated against  a  marriage  which  the  duke  of  York, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  a  widower,  was  negotiating 
with  a  catholic  princess  of  the  house  of  Modena.  What, 
however,  chiefly  alarmed  the  court,  was  an  attack  on  the 
members  of  the  cabal,  to  whose  pernicious  counsels'  the 
parliament  imputed  all  their  grievances.  This  produced 
a  change  in  the  ministry,  somewhat  in  favour  of  the  nation ; 
but  the  duke  having  concluded  the  proposed  match,  and 
the  war  with  Holland  being  more  unpopular  than  ever, 
Charles  found  that  he  could  obtain  no  more  sup- 
tfi74  Pues'  wnu<e  tne  present  measures  were  pursued. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  on  a  separate  peace,  which 
was  negotiated  under  the  Spanish  ambassador,  and  was 
concluded  on  terms  honourable  to  England,  and  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  people. 

The  war,  however,  still  continued  between  Holland  and 
France,  and  the  events  to  which  it  gave  rise  were  regarded 
by  the  English  people  with  extreme  anxiety.  Parliament 
viewed  with  much  jealousy  the  measures  of  government, 
and  the  king's  secret  attachments  to  France.  This  jea- 
lousy was  increased  by  a  bill  introduced  into  the 
1^7^  house  of  peers,  by  the  earl  of  Lindesey,  the  object 
of  which  was,  to  oblige  the  members  of  both  houses, 
and  all  who  possessed  any  office,  to  swear,  that  it  was 
unlawful,  on  any  pretence  whatever,  to  take  arms  against 
the  king,  and  that  they  would  not  at  any  time  endeavour 
any  alteration  in  the  established  government,  either  in 
church  or  state.  Great  opposition  was  made  to  this  bill, 
which  was  debated  for  seventeen  days,  and  was  carried 
only  by  two  voices  in  the  house  of  peers.  In  the  com- 
mons it  was  likely  to  meet  with  still  greater  opposition ; 
but  a  quarrel  arising  between  the  two  houses,  respecting  a 
breach  of  privilege,  the  king,  finding  that  no  business  could 
be  completed  in  consequence  of  this  altercation,  prorogued 
the  parliament. 


CHARLES    II.  347 

At  this  period,  the  king  was  the  undisputed  arbiter  of 
Europe ;  and  though  he  was  sensible,  that  so  long  as  the 
war  continued  he  should  enjoy  no  tranquility  at  home,  he 
could  not  bring  himself  to  impose  a  peace  by  openly  join- 
ing either  party. 

The  parliament  again  assembled,  after  an  adjournment 
of  more  than  a  year,  and  Charles  made  strong  professions 
of  future  economy,  and  offered  his  consent  to  any 
laws  for  the  farther  security  of  religion  and  property.  ,  '^1 
At  first  the  commons  proceeded  with  some  degree 
of  temper,  and  granted  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  thousand  pounds  for  building  ships ;  but  hearing  of 
the  defeat  of  the  prince  of  Orange  by  marshal  Luxemburgh, 
and  of  the  capture  of  Valenciennes,  Cambray,  and  St. 
Omer,  by  Louis,  they  addressed  the  king,  representing  the 
danger  to  which  England  was  exposed,  from  the  increa- 
sing greatness  of  France,  and  praying,  that  by  such  alli- 
ances as  he  should  think  fit  to  enter  into,  he  would  endea- 
vour to  secure  both  his  own  dominions  and  the  Spanish 
Netherlands.  Charles,  considering  this  application  as  an 
attack  on  his  measures,  replied  in  general  terms,  that  he 
would  use  all  means  for  the  preservation  of  Flanders,  con- 
sistent with  the  peace  and  safety  of  his  kingdoms.  This 
answer  was  regarded  as  an  evasion,  or  rather  a  denial ; 
and  the  commons,  instead  of  granting  a  supply,  which  the 
king  had  demanded,  voted  an  address,  wherein  they  be- 
sought his  majesty  to  enter  into  a  league,  offensive  and 
defensive,  with  the  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces, 
against  the  growth  and  power  of  the  French  king,  and  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  and  to  make 
such  other  alliances  with  the  confederates  as  should  ap- 
pear fit  and  useful  to  that  end.  On  these  conditions  they 
promised  him  effectual  supplies ;  but  Charles  pretended 
to  consider  this  address  as  an  encroachment  on  his  prero- 
gative ;  and  after  reproving  the  commons  in  severe  terms, 
he  immediately  adjourned  both  houses. 

Had  not  the  king  been  privately  sold  to  France,  this 
was  the  critical  moment  in  which  he  might  have  preserved 
the  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  and  regained  the  confi- 
dence of  his  subjects.  This  opportunity,  however,  was 
neglected ;  and  the  conduct  of  Charles  was  afterwards 
justly  regarded  with  jealousy  and  distrust.  But  in  order 
to  allay,  in  some  measure,  the  violent  discontents  which 


348  HISTORY   OF    ENGLAND. 

prevailed  in  the  nation,  the  king  encouraged  proposals  oi 
marriage  from  the  prince  of  Orange  to  the  princess  Mary, 
eldest  daughter  of  the  duke  of  York,  who  had  no  malt 
issue,  and  who  was  consequently  heir-apparent  to  the 
throne,  after  her  father. 

Charles  graciously  received  his  nephew,  the  prince  of 
Orange,  at  Newmarket ;  and  the  latter  was  introduced  to 
the  princess,  whom  he  found  extremely  amiable  both  in 
her  person  and  manners.  In  a  short  time  the  marriage 
took  place,  and  gave  infinite  satisfaction  to  all  parties ;  but, 
notwithstanding  the  double  tie  by  which  the  king  was  now 
bound  to  consult  the  interests  of  the  States  General, 
nothing  could  detach  him  from  the  French  alliance ;  and 
he  is  said  to  have  received  from  Louis  the  sum  of  two  mil- 
lions of  livres  as  the  price  of  prolonging  the  adjournment 
of  parliament,  which,  it  was  feared,  would  have  urged  the 
necessity  of  joining  the  allies  in  a  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  war. 

At  length,  after  various  negotiations,  a  treaty  of  general 
peace  was  signed  at  Nimeguen,  where  a  congress 
lfi78  *on£  Deen  nem<  Dv  tne  niinisters  of  the  different 

powers.  By  this  treaty,  France  secured  the  pos- 
session of  Franchecomte,  and  of  several  towns  in  the  Ne- 
therlands. 

A  strong  spirit  of  indignation  existed  among  the  English 
against  their  sovereign,  who  had  acted  a  part  entirely  sub- 
servient to  the  common  enemy,  and  by  whose  supineness 
and  irresolution  Louis  had  been  enabled  to  make  such  im- 
portant acquisitions  In  Scotland,  too,  religious  differen- 
ces ran  high ;  conventicles  multiplied  in  the  west ;  the 
clergy  of  the  established  church  were  insulted ;  and  the 
covenanters  even  met  in  arms  at  their  places  of  worship. 
To  repress  the  rising  spirit  of  presbyterianism,  a  new  par- 
liament had  been  assembled  at  Edinburgh,  some  years 
before ;  and  Lauderdale,  who  had  been  appointed  com- 
missioner, had  sufficient  influence  to  get  some  acts  passed 
which  were  favourable  to  the  prerogative  ;  but  the  severity 
of  his  measures  against  the  covenanters  raised  up  a  party 
against  him,  of  which  duke  Hamilton  was  the  head. 

In  fact,  both  the  language  and  the  conduct  of  Charles 
daily  tended  to  increase  the  prejudices  and  suspicions  of 
his  subjects.  Arbitrary  power  and  popery  were  appre 
hended  as  the  scope  of  all  his  designs ;  and  while  the  na 


CHARLES   II.  349 

tlon  was  in  this  jealous  disposition,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
every  report  against  the  catholics  should  be  readily  believed. 

One  Kirby,  a  chemist,  informed  the  king,  that  there  was 
a  design  against  his  life ;  and  that  two  men  called  Grove 
and  Pickering,  had  engaged  to  shoot  him,  and  sir  George 
Wakeman,  the  queen's  physician,  to  poison  him.  This 
intelligence,  he  said,  had  been  communicated  to  him  by 
doctor  Tongue,  a  restless  divine,  who,  being  examined, 
declared  to  Danby,  the  treasurer,  that  the  papers  which 
contained  information  of  the  conspiracy  had  been  thrust 
under  his  door. 

The  king  concluded  that  the  whole  was  an  imposture ; 
and  the  matter  would  probably  have  been  consigned  to 
oblivion,  had  not  the  duke  of  York,  on  hearing  that  priests 
and  Jesuits,  and  even  his  own  confessor,  had  been  impli- 
cated in  the  business,  insisted  that  regular  inquiry  should 
be  made  by  the  council  into  the  pretended  conspiracy. 
Kirby  and  Tongue  were  sought  after,  and  were  found  living 
in  close  intimacy  with  Titus  Oates,  who  was  said  to  have 
conveyed  the  first  intelligence  to  Tongue.  This  man,  in 
whose  breast  was  lodged  a  secret  involving  the  fate  of 
kings,  was  allowed  to  remain  in  such  necessity,  that  Kirby 
supplied  him  with  daily  bread  ;  and,  as  he  expected  more 
encouragement  from  the  public,  than  from  the  king  or  his 
ministers,  he  judged  it  proper,  before  he  was  presented  to 
the  council,  to  give  his  evidence  before  sir  Edmundsbury 
Godfrey,  an  active  magistrate. 

The  intelligence  of  Oates  tended  to  this  purpose,  that* 
the  pope,  having  assumed  the  sovereignty  of  England  and 
Ireland,  on  account  of  the  heresy  of  the  prince  and  people, 
had  delegated  his  authority  to  the  Jesuits,  who  had  sup- 
plied, by  commissions,  all  the  chief  offices,  both  civil  and 
military. 

It  would  be  useless  to  enter  into  all  the  details  of  this 
pretended  plot.  Suffice  it  to  observe,  that  Oates  was  one 
of  the  most  infamous  of  mankind ;  and  that,  before  the 
council,  he  betrayed  his  impostures  in  such  a  manner,  as 
would  have  discredited  the  most  consistent  story,  and  the 
most  reputable  evidence.  The  plot,  however,  soon  be 
came  the  source  of  terror  to  the  people  ;  and  Danby,  out 
of  opposition  to  the  French  interest,  encouraged  the  story ; 
and  by  his  suggestions,  one  Coleman,  who  had  been  se- 
30 


360  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

cretary  to  the  late  duchess  of  York,  and  had  been  impli- 
cated in  this  affair,  was  ordered  to  be  arrested. 

Among  the  papers  of  Coleman  were  found  several  pas- 
sages, which  contained  very  free  remarks  relative  to  the 
sentiments  and  principles  of  the  king,  and  which  contri- 
buted to  diffuse  through  the  nation  a  panic  on  account  of 
the  popish  plot ;  and  the  people,  regarding  the  remarks 
of  Coleman  as  a  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  Oates1  story, 
confounded  a  business  which  had  no  relation  to  it,  with 
the  originally  hatched  conspiracy. 

The  murder  of  sir  Edmundsbury  Godfrey,  which  was 
never  accounted  for,  completed  the  general  delusion,  and 
rendered  the  prejudices  of  the  nation  absolutely  incurable. 
While  the  nation  was  in  this  ferment,  the  parliament  as- 
sembled ;  and  the  cry  of  the  plot  was  immediately  echoed 
from  one  house  to  the  other.  A  solemn  fast  was  voted  ; 
and  addresses  passed  for  the  removal  of  popish  recusants 
from  London.  The  lords  Powis,  Stafford,  Arundel,  Pe- 
ters, and  Bellasis,  were  impeached  for  high  treason ;  and 
both  houses,  after  hearing  the  evidence  of  Oates,  voted, 
"  that  the  lords  and  commons  are  of  opinion,  that  there 
hath  been,  and  still  is,  a  damnable  and  hellish  plot,  con- 
trived and  carried  on  by  the  popish  recusants,  for  assas- 
sinating the  king,  for  subverting  the  government,  and  for 
rooting  out  and  destroying  the  protestant  religion."  Oates 
was  applauded  and  caressed,  and  encouraged  by  a  pen- 
sion of  1200  pounds  a  year. 

Such  bounty  brought  forth  new  witnesses.  William 
Bedloe,  a  man,  if  possible,  more  infamous  than  Oates,  ap- 
peared next  on  the  stage.  At  first,  he  gave  intelligence 
only  of  Godfrey's  murder,  which,  he  said,  had  been  perpe- 
trated in  Somerset- house,  where  the  queen  lived,  by  pa- 
pists, some  of  whom  were  servants  in  her  family.  Next 
day,  when  examined  before  the  lords,  he  gave  an  ample 
account  of  the  plot ;  and  he  made  his  narrative  agree  as 
well  as  he  could  with  that  of  Oates,  which  had  been  pub- 
lished ;  but,  in  order  to  heighten  the  effect,  and  render 
himself  more  acceptable,  he  added  other  circumstances 
still  more  dreadful  and  extraordinary. 

Though  the  king  ridiculed  the  plot,  and  all  who  believed 
it,  yet  he  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  the  popular  opinion 
before  the  parliament.  A  bill  had  been  introduced  for  a 
new  test,  in  which  popery  was  denominated  idolatry ;  and 


CHARLES   II.  351 

all  members  who  refused  this  test  were  to  be  excluded 
from  both  houses.  The  duke  of  York,  in  the  most  pa- 
thetic manner,  moved,  that  an  exception  might  be  admit- 
ted in  his  favour ;  and  he  protested,  that  whatever  his  reli- 
gion might  be,  it  should  only  be  a  private  thing  between 
God  and  his  own  soul,  and  never  should  appear  in  his 
public  conduct.  Notwithstanding  this  appeal,  he  prevail- 
ed only  by  two  voices. 

The  public  ferment  was  increased  by  the  treachery  of 
Montague,  who  had  been  ambassador  at  Paris,  and  who 
had  procured  a  seat  in  the  house  of  commons.  He  laid 
before  the  house  a  letter  from  the  treasurer  Danby,  coun- 
tersigned by  the  king,  in  which  appeared  the  most  palpa- 
ble proofs  of  Charles's  intrigues  with  the  French  court. 
Dauby  was  immediately  impeached  by  the  commons,  but 
the  peers  refused  to  commit  him ;  and  a  great  contest  be- 
ing likely  to  arise  between  the  two  houses,  the  king  thought 
it  advisable,  first  to  prorogue,  and  afterwards  to  dissolve 
the  parliament. 

The  want  of  money,  however,  compelled  Charles 
to   summon  a  new  parliament ;    but   being   soon  *  «7q 
alarmed  at  their  refractory  disposition,  in  order  to 
appease  his  people  and  the  parliament,  he  desired  the  duke 
of  York  to  withdraw  beyond  sea,  that  no  farther  suspicion 
of  popish  councils  might  remain.     The  duke  readily  com- 
plied ;  but  first  required  an  order  for  that  purpose  from  the 
king,  lest  his  absenting  himself  should  be  considered  as  a 
proof  of  fear  or  guilt ;  and  he  also  desired  that  his  brother 
would  satisfy  him,  as  well  as  the  public,  by  declaring  the 
illegitimacy  of  the  duke  of  Monmouth. 

This  nobleman  was  a  natural  son  of  the  king's  by  Lucy 
Walters,  and  born  about  ten  years  before  the  restoration. 
He  possessed  all  the  qualities  which  could  engage  the  af- 
fections of  the  people ;  and,  in  proportion  as  the  duke  of 
York  was  the  object  of  hatred,  on  account  of  his  religion, 
Monmouth  rose  higher  in  the  public  favour.  Some  even 
flattered  him  with  the  hopes  of  succeeding  to  the  crown ; 
and  the  story  of  a  contract  of  marriage  between  the  king  and 
his  mother  was  industriously  spread  abroad,  and  eagerly 
received  by  the  people.  Charles,  however,  to  put  an  end 
to  all  intrigues  of  this  kind,  as  well  as  to  remove  the  duke 
of  York's  apprehensions,  in  full  council  made  a  declara- 


352  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

tion  of  Monmouth's  illegitimacy,  on  which  York  willingly 
complied  with  the  king's  desire,  and  retired  to  Brussels. 

Charles,  however,  could  not  obtain  the  confidence  of  the 
parliament.  The  impeachment  of  Danby  was  revived, 
and  the  king,  in  order  to  screen  his  minister,  granted  him 
a  full  pardon ;  but  it  was  pretended  that  no  pardon  of  the 
crown  could  be  pleaded  in  bar  of  an  impeachment  by  the 
commons ;  and  so  resolute  was  parliament  in  support  of 
its  pretensions,  that  Danby  was  committed  a  close  prisoner 
to  the  tower. 

It  being  expected  that  a  bill  for  excluding  the  duke  of 
York  from  the  throne  would  be  brought  into  parliament, 
Charles  projected  certain  limitations,  by  which  the  succes- 
sor, if  a  papist,  would  be  deprived  of  the  chief  branches 
of  royalty.  These  concessions,  however,  were  rejected  ; 
and  a  bill  was  brought  in  for  the  absolute  exclusion  of  the 
duke  from  the  crown  of  England  and  Ireland.  It  was 
therein  declared,  that  the  sovereignty  of  these  kingdoms, 
upon  the  king's  death  or  resignation,  should  devolve  to 
the  person  next  in  succession  after  the  duke,  and  that  all 
who  supported  his  title  should  be  punished  as  rebels  and 
traitors.  This  important  bill  passed  the  lower  house  by  a 
majority  of  seventy-nine. 

Soon  after,  the  standing  army,  and  the  king's  guards, 
were  voted  by  the  commons  to  be  illegal ;  and  that  bul- 
wark of  personal  and  national  liberty,  the  habeas  corpus 
act,  which  provided  against  arbitrary  imprisonment,  was 
passed  the  same  session. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  impeachment  of  the  five  popish 
lords,  with  that  of  the  earl  of  Danby,  was  carried  on  with 
great  vigour ;  but  a  dispute  arising  between  the  two  houses, 
about  allowing  the  bishops  to  vote  on  the  trial  of  Danby, 
afforded  the  king  a  favourable  pretext  for  dissolving  the 
parliament. 

This  vigorous  measure  disappointed  the  malcontents ; 
but  even  the  recess  of  parliament  afforded  no  interruption 
to  the  prosecution  of  the  catholics  accused  of  the  plot. 
Whitbread,  provincial  of  the  Jesuits,  Fenwic,  Gavan,  Tur- 
ner, and  Harcourt,  all  of  the  same  order,  were  condemned 
.Aid  executed  on  the  most  incoherent  and  doubtful  evi- 
dence. Langhorne,  an  eminent  lawyer,  by  whom  all  the 
concerns  of  the  Jesuits  were  managed,  was  also  convicted  ; 
and  the  first  check  which  the  informers  received,  was  on 


CHARLES    II.  353 

the  trial  of  sir  George  Wakeman,  the  queen's  physician. 
The  acquittal  of  Wakeman  was  a  great  mortification  to 
the  prosecutors  of  the  plot,  and  fixed  an  indelible  stain  on 
Oates,  Bedloe,  and  their  abettors. 

The  discontents  in  England  excited  the  attention  of  the 
Scottish  covenanters,  who,  regarding  Sharpe,  the  primate, 
as  an  apostate  from  their  principles,  and  an  unrelenting 
persecutor,  dragged  him  from  his  coach,  and  put  him  to 
death.  This  atrocious  action  gave  rise  to  a  violent  perse- 
cution against  the  covenanters,  who,  finding  themselves 
deeply  involved  in  guilt,  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
city  of  Glasgow,  dispossessed  the  established  clergy,  and 
issued  proclamations,  declaring  that  they  fought  against 
the  king's  supremacy,  against  popery  and  prelacy,  and 
against  a  popish  successor. 

The  king,  apprehensive  of  the  consequences  of  this  in- 
surrection, despatched  Monmouth  into  Scotland  with  a 
small  body  of  English  cavalry.  That  nobleman  being 
joined  by  the  Scottish  guards,  and  some  regiments  of  mi- 
litia, marched  with  great  celerity  against  the  enemy,  who 
had  taken  post  near  Bothwell  castle.  Their  army  never 
exceeded  eight  thousand  men  ;  and,  being  without  officers 
and  experience,  they  were  speedily  routed,  with  the  loss 
of  seven  hundred  killed,  and  one  thousand  two  hundred 
taken  prisoners.  Monmouth  treated  these  with  great  hu- 
manity, and  an  act  of  indemnity  was  soon  after  passed. 

Charles  falling  ill  at  Windsor,  such  an  affectionate  re- 
gard was  shown  him,  and  such  consternation  seized  all 
ranks  of  men,  that,  to  use  an  expression  of  sir  William 
Temple's,  the  king's  death  was  regarded  as  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  duke  of  York  had  been  privately  sent  for ; 
but,  when  he  arrived,  the  king  was  out  of  danger.  The 
journey,  however,  was  attended  with  important  conse- 
quences. He  prevailed  on  the  king  to  disgrace  Monmouth, 
whose  projects  were  now  known  and  avowed ;  and  he  ob- 
tained leave  himself  to  retire  into  Scotland,  on  pretence  of 
quieting  the  apprehensions  of  the  English,  but,  in  reality, 
with  a  view  of  securing  his  interests  in  that  kingdom. 

From  the  favour  and  encouragement  which  the  parlia- 
ment had  given  to  informers,  the  nation  had  got  into  a  vein 
of  credulity.  One  Dangerfield,  a  man  of  the  most  infa- 
mous character,  was  the  author  or  denouncer  of  a  new 
plot,  called  the  meal-tub  plot,  from  the  place  where  some 
30* 


354  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

papers  relative  to  it  were  found.  The  bottom  of  this  affair 
it  is  difficult,  and  not  material,  to  discover.  It  only  ap- 
pears, that  Dangerfield,  under  pretence  of  betraying  the 
conspiracies  of  the  presbyterians,  had  been  countenanced 
by  some  catholics  of  condition,  and  had  even  gained  ad- 
mission to  the  duke  of  York.  Which  side  he  originally 
intended  to  cheat  is  uncertain  ;  but  finding  the  nation  more 
inclined  to  believe  in  a  popish  than  a  presbyterian  plot,  he 
fell  in  with  the  prevailing  humour. 

The  duke  of  Monmouth  returned  without  leave,  and 
making  a  triumphant  procession  through  many  parts  of 
the  kingdom,  increased  the  present  ferment.     Great  en- 
deavours were  used  to  obtain  the  king's  consent  for  the 
meeting  of  parliament.     The  crown  was  attacked  by  tu- 
multuous petitions.     Wherever  the  court  party  prevailed, 
addresses  were  framed,  expressing  the  deepest  abhorrence 
of  popular  encroachments.     Hence  the  nation  was 
lfiftft  distinguished  mt0  petitioners  and  abhorrers.     Be- 
sides these  appellations,  which  were  soon  forgotten, 
this  is  the  epoch  of  the  epithets  Whig  and  Tory,*  which 
have  been  bandied  about  for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half, 
with  little  appropriate  meaning,  and  frequently  to  the  in- 
jury both  of  individuals  and  the  public. 

After  a  long  interval,  the  king  resolved  to  assemble  the 
parliament ;  but  all  the  mollifying  expressions  which  he 
used  in  addressing  that  assembly,  had  no  effect  on  the 
commons,  who  proceeded  in  their  former  career,  and 
aeemed  bent  on  renewing  the  bill  for  excluding  the  duke 
of  York  from  the  succession ;  and  the  friends  of  Monmouth 
hoped  that  the  exclusion  of  that  prince  would  advance 
their  patron  to  the  throne.  In  the  commons,  the  bill 
passed  by  a  great  majority ;  but  in  the  house  of  peers, 
where  the  king  expected  to  oppose  it  with  success,  the 
court-party  prevailed,  and  it  was  rejected  after  a  long  and 
violent  debate. 

The  commons  discovered  much  ill  humour  on  this  dis- 
appointment, and  resumed  the  impeachment  of  the  catho- 

*  The  court-party  reproached  their  antagonists  with  resembling 
the  fanatical  conventiclers  in  Scotland,  who  had  obtained  the  nam« 
of  tokitrs ;  and  the  country  party  found  a  resemblance  between  the 
courtiers  and  the  popish  banditti  in  Ireland,  to  whom  the  appella- 
tion of  tory  was  affixed.  Hence  the  origin  of  these  two  terms  of 
reproach. 


CHARLES   II.  355 

lie  lords ;  and  as  viscount  Stafford,  from  his  age  and  in- 
firmities, was  least  able  to  defend  himself,  he  became  the 
first  victim.  He  protested,  that  the  only  treason  of  which 
he  had  ever  been  guilty,  had  been  entering  into  schemes 
for  procuring  a  toleration  to  the  catholics,  at  least  a  miti- 
gation of  the  penal  laws  enacted  against  them.  The  po- 
pulace, who  had  exulted  at  his  trial  and  condemnation, 
were  melted  into  tears  at  the  tender  fortitude  which  he 
displayed  on  the  scaffold. 

This  was  the  last  blood  that  was  shed  on  account  of 
the  popish  plot.  The  commons,  however,  still  found  new 
occasions  to  exercise  their  talents  against  the  court ;  and 
besides  insisting  on  the  exclusion,  they  proceeded  to  bring 
in  other  bills  of  an  alarming  nature.  The  king,  seeing  no 
hopes  of  restoring  the  commons  to  a  better  temper,  came 
to  the  resolution  of  proroguing  them  ;  but  the  house  having 
got  intelligence  of  his  design  a  short  time  before  it  was  put 
in  execution,  in  the  most  tumultuous  manner  passed  some 
extraordinary  resolutions,  which  were  indirectly  subversive 
of  the  throne. 

Soon  after  this  session  was  closed,  Charles  summoned 
a  new  parliament,  and,  in  order  to  prevent  those  tumults, 
which  attended  their  assembling  at  Westminster,  from  the 
vicinity  of  a  populous  city,  he  directed  them  to  meet  him 
at  Oxford.  Against  this,  Monmouth  and  fifteen  peers 
protested,  on  the  ground  that  the  two  houses  would  be 
there  exposed  to  the  swords  of  the  papists  and  their  ad- 
herents. These  insinuations  inflamed  the  people  still 
more ;  the  leaders  came  to  parliament,  attended  not  only 
by  their  servants,  but  by  numerous  retainers ;  and  the  as- 
sembly at  Oxford  resembled  more  a  Polish  diet  than  any 
English  parliament. 

The  commons  consisted  nearly  of  the  same  members, 
and  fell  instantly  into  the  same  measures,  the  impeach- 
ment of  Danby,  the  inquiry  into  the  popish  plot,  and  the 
bill  of  exclusion.  So  violent  were  they  on  this  last  article, 
that  no  expedient,  however  plausible,  could  be  hearkened 
to.  One  of  the  king's  ministers  proposed,  that  the  duke 
should  be  banished  five  hundred  miles  from  England,  and 
on  the  king's  demise,  the  next  heir  should  be  constituted 
regent  with  regal  power ;  yet  even  this  expedient,  which 
would  have  left  the  duke  of  York  only  the  bare  title  of 
king,  failed  to  satisfy  the  house.     Charles,  seeing  no  pro- 


356  HISTORY  OP    ENGLAND. 

bability  of  a  better  temper  in  the  commons,  without  sacri- 
ficing his  brother,  dissolved  the  parliament ;  and  resolved 
to  depend  on  economy  and  retrenchment  for  alleviating 
the  necessities  under  which  he  laboured. 

As  the  king  no  longer  dreaded  the  clamours  of  the 

country  party,  he  permitted  the  duke  of  York  to  pay  him 

a  visit.     The  duke  chose  to  take  his  passage  by 

Ififti  sea '  anc^ tne  sn*P  *n  wmcn  ne  embarked  struck  on 
a  sand-bank,  and  was  lost ;  but  he  escaped,  with 
a  few  of  his  party,  in  the  barge.  It  is  said,  that  while 
many  persons  of  rank  and  quality  were  drowning,  and 
among  the  rest,  Hyde,  his  brother-in-law,  the  duke  was 
very  clamorous  to  save  the  dogs  and  the  priests. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  crown,  two  sheriffs,  North 
and  Rich,  were  chosen  in  the  city  on  account  of  their 
devotion  to  the  court ;  but  as  the  contest  might  be  renewed 
every  year,  a  project  was  formed  to  make  the  king  master 
at  once,  not  only  of  the  city,  but  of  all  the  corporations  in 
England.  A  writ  of  quo  warranto*  was  issued  against  the 
city,  which  it  was  pretended,  had  forfeited  all  its  privileges, 
on  account  of  some  irregularities  in  its  proceedings  several 
years  before ;  and  though  the  cause  of  the  city  was  ably 
defended  against  the  attorney  and  solicitor  generals,  the 
judges  decided  against  it.  After  sentence  had  been  pro- 
nounced, the  citizens  petitioned  the  king,  who  agreed  to 
restore  them  their  charter,  but  obliged  them  to  submit  to 
the;  following  regulations  :  that  no  mayor,  sheriff,  re- 
corder, common-serjeant,  town-clerk,  or  coroner,  should 
be  admitted  to  the  exercise  of  his  office  without  his  ma- 
jesty's approbation ;  that  if  the  king  disapproved  twice  of 
the  mayor  or  sheriffs  elected,  he  may,  by  commission,  ap- 
point those  magistrates ;  that  the  mayor  and  court  of  alder- 
men may,  with  his  majesty's  leave,  displace  any  magis- 
trate ;  and  that  no  alderman,  in  case  of  a  vacancy,  shall 
be  elected  without  the  consent  of  the  court  of  aldermen, 
who,  if  they  disapproved  twice  of  the  choice,  may  fill  the 
vacancy. 

All  the  corporations  in  England,  from  this  precedent, 
saw  how  ineffectual  it  would  be  to  contend  with  the  court, 
and  therefore,  most  of  them  were  induced  to  surrender 

*  That  is,  an  inquiry  into  the  validity  of  its  charter. 


CHARLES    II.  357 

their  charters  into  the  king's  hands.  Considerable 
l'f>Qo  sums  wire  exacted  for  restoring  the  charters  ;  and 
all  offices  of  power  or  profit,  by  the  restrictions 
introduced,  were  now  left  at  the  disposal  of  the  crown. 
The  conduct  of  Charles  in  these  proceedings  was  a  most 
violent  infraction  of  personal  and  national  liberty,  and 
sufficiently  proves  the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  principles 
by  which  he  governed.  Every  friend  to  liberty  must  allow, 
that  the  nation,  whose  constitution  had  been  thus  violated, 
was  justified  in  employing  expedients  for  recovering  the 
security  of  which  it  had  been  so  unjustly  deprived. 

There  was  a  party,  who,  even  before  this  last  iniquitous 
proceeding,  which  laid  the  whole  constitution  at  the  mercy 
of  the  king,  meditated  plans  of  resistance  to  the  measures 
of  the  court.  The  duke  of  Monmouth,  lord  Russel,  and 
lord  Gray,  solicited,  not  only  the  capital,  but  the  nobility 
and  gentry  of  several  counties,  to  rise  in  arms,  and  oppose 
the  succession  of  the  duke.  The  whole  train  was  ready 
to  take  fire ;  but  was  prevented  by  the  caution  of  lord 
Russel,  who,  in  opposition  to  Shaftesbury,  the  prime  mo- 
ver, induced  Monmouth  to  delay  the  enterprise.  Shaftes- 
bury, enraged  at  this  delay,  abandoned  all  hopes  of  success, 
and  withdrew  to  Holland,  where  he  died  soon  after,  little 
regretted  by  his  friends,  or  noticed  by  his  enemies. 

At  last,  a  regular  project  of  insurrection  was  formed. 
The  council  consisted  of  Monmouth,  Russel,  Essex,  How- 
ard, Algernon  Sidney,  and  John  Hampden,  grandson  to 
the  great  parliamentary  leader.  These  men  entered  into 
an  agreement  with  Argyle  and  the  Scottish  malcontents, 
who  engaged  to  bring  the  covenanters  into  the  field.  The 
conspirators,  however,  differed  widely  in  their  views.  Sid- 
ney and  Essex  were  for  a  republic  ;  Monmouth  entertain- 
ed hopes  of  obtaining  the  crown  for  himself;  and  Russel 
and  Hampden  were  attached  to  the  ancient  constitution, 
and  wished  only  a  redress  of  grievances,  and  the  exclusion 
of  the  duke  of  York.  Howard,  who  was  a  man  of  no 
principle,  was  ready  to  espouse  any  party,  to  which  his 
interest  might  lead  him.  But,  discordant  as  they  seemed 
in  their  characters  and  views,  they  were  all  united  in  a 
common  hatred  of  the  heir-apparent. 

While  these  schemes  were  concerting  among  the  lead- 
ers, an  inferior  order  ot  conspirators  held  frequent  meet- 
ings, and  carried  on  projects  quite  unknown  to  Monmouth, 


358  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  the  cabal  of  six ;  and  the  only  persons  of  this  confe- 
deracy, who  had  access  to  the  leaders  of  the  party,  were 
Ferguson,  and  colonel  Rumsey,  an  old  republican  officer. 
These  persons  indulged  in  the  most  criminal  discourse ; 
and  proposed  to  assassinate  Charles  at  a  farm  called  the 
Rye-house,  which  lay  on  the  road  to  Newmarket,  whither 
the  king  commonly  went  once  a  year;  but  the  house  in 
which  his  majesty  lived  there  happening  to  take  fire,  obli- 
ged him  to  leave  that  place  sooner  than  he  intended,  aj 
thus  the  execution  of  the  design  was  prevented. 

Among  the  conspirators  was  one  Keiling,  who,  being 
under  a  criminal  prosecution,  in  order  to  obtain  a  pardon, 
betrayed  his  associates  to  secretary  Jenkins.  Search  being 
made  after  tjbie  conspirators,  colonel  Rumsey,  and  West,  a 
lawyer,  finding  the  perils  to  which  they  were  exposed,  sur- 
rendered themselves,  and  turned  evidence.  Rumsey  made 
known  the  meetings  of  the  leaders ;  and  orders  were  issued 
for  arresting  the  great  men  engaged  in  the  conspiracy. 
Monmouth  absconded ;  Russel  was  sent  to  the  tower;  Gray 
was  arrested,  but  escaped  ;  and  He  ^ard,  a  profligate  man, 
being  taken,  in  hopes  of  pardon  and  reward,  revealed  the 
whole  plot.  Essex,  Sidney,  and  Hampden,  were  imme- 
diately apprehended ;  and  some  of  the  inferior  conspira- 
tors being  convicted,  paid  the  forfeit  of  their  lives. 

The  condemnation  of  these  criminals  was  preparatory 
to  the  trial  of  lord  Russel,  a  nobleman  illustrious  for  his 
virtues,  and  highly  popular,  against  whom  Rumsey,  Shep- 
hard,  and  Howard,  appeared.  It  was  proved,  that  an  in- 
surrection had  been  resolved  on,  and  the  surprisal  of  the 
king's  guards  taken  into  consideration  by  the  prisoner ; 
but  still,  with  regard  to  law,  there  remained  an  important 
difficulty.  By  an  act  passed  soon  after  the  restoration,  to 
consult  on  a  rebellion,  during  Charles's  life  time,  was  de- 
clared treason ;  but  it  was  required,  that  the  prosecution 
should  be  commenced  within  six  months  aftef  the  crime 
had  been  committed.  The  facts  sworn  to  by  Rumsey  and 
Shephard  were  beyond  the  six  months  required  by  law ; 
and  to  the  other  circumstances,  Howard  was  the  only  evi- 
dence, whereas,  by  the  statute  of  Edward  III.,  the  crime 
of  treason  must  be  proved  by  two  witnesses. 

Russel  perceived  this  irregularity,  and  desired  to  have 
the  point  argued  by  counsel;  but  the  chief-justice  told 
him,  that  this  favour  could  not  be  granted,  unless  he  pre- 


Arrest  of  the  Queen  of  Denmark. 


Lord  Russell  parting  with  his  Family. 


CHARLES    II.  359 


viously  confessed  the  facts  ;  and  the  artificial  confounding 
of  the  two  species  of  treason  was  the  principal,  though 
not  the  only  hardship,  of  which  this  unfortunate  nobleman 
had  reason  to  complain  on  his  trial.  His  veracity  would 
not  allow  him  to  deny  the  conspiracy  for  an  insurrection ; 
but  he  solemnly  protested,  that  he  had  never  entertained 
any  design  against  the  life  of  the  king.  After  a  short  de- 
liberation, the  jury  brought  him  in  guilty. 

Applications  were  made  to  the  king  for  a  pardon  ;  and 
even  money,  to  a  very  considerable  amount,  was  offered 
to  the  duchess  of  Portsmouth  by  the  earl  of  Bedford,  fa- 
ther to  Russel ;  but  Charles  was  inexorable. 

Lady  Russel,  daughter  and  heir  of  the  earl  of  South- 
ampton, a  woman  of  the  most  exalted  merit,  threw  herself 
at  the  king's  feet,  and  pleaded  with  many  tears  the  services 
of  her  father  as  an  atonement  for  the  error  of  her  husband. 
Finding  her  supplications  ineffectual,  she  summoned  up  all 
the  fortitude  of  her  soul,  and  even  endeavoured,  by  her  ex- 
ample, to  strengthen  the  resolution  of  her  unfortunate  lord. 
With  a  tender  and  decent  composure,  they  took  leave  of 
each  other  on  the  day  of  his  execution.  u  The  bitterness 
of  death  is  now  past,"  said  he,  as  he  turned  to  her.  To  the 
last,  he  maintained  the  same  dignified  composure,  the  same 
good-humoured  equanimity  for  which  he  had  been  always 
distinguished.  He  was  the  most  popular  among  his  own 
party,  and  admired  for  his  virtues  even  by  the  opposite 
faction  ;  and  his  melancholy  fate  united  every  heart,  sen- 
sible of  humanity,  in  a  tender  compassion  for  him. 

Algernon  Sidney,  the  apostle  of  liberty,  was  next 
brought  to  trial.  This  gallant  person,  son  to  the  earl.jrf 
Leicester,  had  been  deeply  implicated  in  the  civil  wars ; 
but  he  opposed  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell  with  zeal  and 
courage  ;  and,  after  the  restoration,  he  chose  voluntary  ba- 
nishment, rather  than  submit  to  a  government  and  family 
which  he  abhorred.  At  length,  he  returned  to  England, 
and  applied  for  the  king's  pardon,  which  he  obtained. 

Howard  was  again  the  only  witness  against  Sidney ; 
but,  as  the  law  required  two,  a  strange  expedient  was 
adopted  to  supply  the  deficiency.  In  searching  the  pri- 
soner's closets,  some  discourses  on  government  were 
found,  in  which  he  maintained  principles,  favourable  in- 
deed to  liberty,  but  such  as  the  most  dutiful  subjects  have 
Ik  en  known  to  embrace,  and  which,  even  if  they  had  been 


360  HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 

published,  could  not  have  infringed  any  positive  law. 
These  papers,  however,  were  said  to  be  equivalent  to  a 
second  witness;  and  the  violent  and  inhuman  judge 
Jefferies  easily  prevailed  on  a  prejudiced  jury  to  give  a 
verdict  against  Sidney.  He  complained,  with  great  rea- 
son, of  the  iniquity  of  the  sentence ;  and  he  died  glorying 
in  the  "  good  old  cause,"  in  which  from  his  youth,  he  said, 
he  had  enlisted  himself. 

Howard  was  also  the  sole  witness  against  Hampden, 
who,  therefore,  was  indicted  only  for  a  misdemeanor ;  and 
sentence  being  obtained  against  him,  the  exorbitant  fine 
of  forty  thousand  pounds  was  imposed  on  him. 

On  the  day  that  Russel  was  tried,  Essex,  a  man  eminent 
for  his  virtues  and  abilities,  was  found  in  the  tower  with 
his  throat  cut.  Whether  he  committed  suicide,  or  was  mur- 
dered by  others,  has  never  been  clearly  ascertained. 

On  the  detection  of  this  conspiracy,  loyal  addresses  ar- 
rived from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom ;  and,  in  order  to  in- 
crease his  present  popularity,  Charles  judged  it 
Ififti  proper  to  give  his  niece,  the  lady  Anne,  in  mar- 
riage to  prince  George,  brother  to  the  king  of  Den- 
mark; but,  though  the  king  had  recovered  his  former 
popularity  in  the  nation,  and  was  enabled  to  govern  with- 
out a  parliament,  it  is  certain  he  was  neither  happy  nor 
satisfied.  The  violent  temper  of  his  brother  gave  him  ap- 
prehension and  uneasiness  ;  and,  in  opposing  some  of  the 
duke's  hasty  counsels,  he  was  heard  one  day  to  say, 
"  brother,  I  am  too  old  to  go  again  on  my  travels ;  you 
may,  if  you  choose  it."  It  was  evident,  that  the  king 
meditated  some  change  of  measures  ;  and  it  was  believed, 
that  he  intended  to  send  the  duke  of  York  to  Scotland,  to 
recal  Monmouth,  to  assemble  his  parliament,  and  to  dis- 
miss his  obnoxious  ministers ;  but  amidst  these  wise  and 
virtuous  designs,  he  was  seized  with  an  apoplectic  fit,  and, 
after  languishing  a  few  days,  expired  in  the  fifty-fifth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  twenty-fifth  of  his  reign.  Having  al- 
ways enjoyed  a  good  constitution,  his  death  begat  suspi- 
cion of  poison  ;  but  when  all  circumstances  are  consider- 
ed, this  suspicion  appears  without  foundation.  His  loss, 
however,  was  sincerely  lamented  by  his  people,  as  well  on 
account  of  their  affection  for  him,  as  of  their  dread  of  his 
successor. 

During  the  few  days  of  the  king's  illness,  he  showed  a 


1 


JAMES  II.  "361 

total  indifference  to  the  devotions  and  exhortations  of  the 
clergy  of  the  established  church,  but  received  the  sacra- 
ment from  the  hands  of  catholic  priests  ;  and  in  his  cabi- 
net were  found  two  papers,  which  contained  arguments  in 
favour  of  the  Romish  communion,  and  which  the  duke  of 
York  had  the  imprudence  immediately  to  publish. 

Charles,  when  considered  as  a  companion,  appears  the 
most  amiable  and  engaging  of  men  ;  he  had  a  ready  wit, 
was  well-bred,  and  good-natured.  When,  however,  we 
view  his  public  character,  he  evidently  sinks  in  our  esti- 
mation. As  a  sovereign,  his  conduct  was  dangerous  to 
his  people,  and  disgraceful  to  himself.  Negligent  of  the 
interests  of  the  nation,  careless  of  its  glory,  averse  to  its 
religion  ;  jealous  of  its  liberty,  lavish  of  its  treasures,  and 
sparing  only  of  its  blood,  he  exposed  it  by  its  measures 
to  the  danger  of  a  civil  war,  and  even  to  the  ruin  and  ig- 
nominy of  a  foreign  conquest. 


CHAP.  XVII 

The  reign  of  James  II. 

The  first  act  of  James's  reign  was  to  assemble  the  priry- 
council,  and  declare  his  resolution  to  maintain  the  estab- 
lished government  in  church  and  state ;  but  in 
the  first  exercise  of  his  authority,  he  showed  the   lgoi 
insincerity  of  his  professions.  All  the  customs,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  excise,  had  been  settled  by  parlia- 
ment on  the  late  king  during  life,  and  consequently  the 
grant  had  expired ;  but  James,  without  regarding  the  laws, 
issued  a  proclamation,  ordering  payment  of  the  customs 
and  excise  as  before  ;  and  he  went  also  openly,  and  with 
all  the  ensigns  of  dignity,  to  mass.     By  this  imprudence 
he  displayed  at  once  his  arbitrary  disposition,  and  the  big- 
otry of  his  principles. 

However  little  inclined  James  might  be  to  an  English 
parliament,  he  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  summon 
one  ;  but  his  speech  to  'that  assembly  was  calculated  ra- 
ther to  awaken  their  fears  than  to  work  on  their  affections. 
He  required  them  to  settle  his  revenue,  and  that  during 
his  life,  as  had  been  done  to  his  brother.  "  There  is,  in- 
deed," added  he,  "  one  popular  argument  against  comply- 
ing with  my  demand.  Men  may  think,  that  by  feeding 
me,  from  time  to  time,  with  such  supplies  as  they  think 
31 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

convenient,  they  will  better  secure  frequent  meetings  of 
parliament ;  but  as  this  is  the  first  time  I  speak  to  you 
from  the  throne,  I  must  plainly  tell  you,  that  such  an  ex- 
pedient would  be  veiy  improper  to  employ  with  me,  and 
that  the  best  way  to  engage  me  to  meet  you  often,  is  al- 
ways to  use  me  well." 

The  parliament  was  thus  placed  in  a  very  critical  situa- 
tion, either  of  opposing  James  at  once,  or  of  complying 
with  his  wishes ;  and  the  commons  voted  the  same  reve- 
nue to  his  present  majesty  during  life,  as  had  been  enjoy- 
ed by  the  late  king.  The  lords  were  no  less  compliant ; 
and  they  endeavoured  to  break  in  pieces  the  remains  of 
the  popish  plot.  Oates,  who  had  been  tried  and  convict- 
ed of  perjury,  was  sentenced  to  perpetual  imprisonment, 
besides  being  publicly  whipped,  and  five  times,  a  year  ex- 
posed in  the  pillory.  The  impudence  of  this  man  still 
supported  him,  and  he  made  solemn  appeals  to  heaven 
for  the  truth  of  his  testimony.* 

The  conviction  of  Oates  was  noticed  by  the  house  of 
peers ;  and  the  popish  lords  Powis,  Arundel,  Bellasis,  and 
Tyrone,  together  with  the  earl  of  Danby,  were  freed  from 
their  impeachment ;  but  the  course  of  parliamentary  pro- 
ceedings was  interrupted  by  the  news  of  Monmouth's 
arrival  in  the  west,  with  three  ships  from  Holland.  Par- 
liament immediately  passed  a  bill  of  attainder  against 
Monmouth,  and  voted,  that  they  would  adhere  to  James 
with  their  fives  and  fortunes ;  and  they  granted  the  king  a 
supply  of  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  suppressing 
the  rebellion. 

The  unfortunate  Monmouth,  pursued  by  the  severity  of 
James,  even  in  his  retirement  on  the  continent,  and  urged 
by  the  impatient  humour  of  Argyle,  who  set  out  for  Scot* 
land  in  his  cause,  was  driven,  contrary  to  his  judgment 
as  well  as  inclination,  to  make  a  rash  and  premature  at- 
tempt. Landing  at  Lyme,  in  Dorset,  with  scarcely  a  hun- 
dred followers,  the  popularity  of  his  name  soon  drew  to  his 
standard  above  two  thousand  horse  and  foot.  At  Taunton 
he  assumed  the  regal  title ;  and  he  was  proclaimed  king 
at  Bridgewater,  Wells,  and  Frome ;  but  he  allowed  the  ex- 

*  On  the  accession  of  king  William,  Oates  recovered  his  liberty, 
and  had  a  pension  of  four  hundred  pounds  a  year  settled  on  him 


JAMES    II.  363 

pectations  of  the  people  to  languish,  without  attempting 
any  considerable  undertaking. 

Hearing  that  Argyle  had  been  defeated,  Monmouth  fell 
into  despondency ;  but  his  followers  showed  more  courage, 
and  seemed  determined  to  adhere  to  him  in  every  fortune. 
The  negligence  of  Feversham,  the  ^  royal  general,  invited 
Monmouth  to  attack  the  king's  army  at  Sedgemoor,  where, 
after  a  combat  of  three  hours,  the  rebels  gave  way.  About 
one  thousand  five  hundred  fell  in  the  battle  and  pursuit ; 
and  the  unhappy  Monmouth  fled  from  the  field,  above 
twenty  miles,  till  his  horse  sunk  under  him.  He  then 
changed  clothes  with  a  peasant,  in  order  to  conceal  him- 
self;  but  at  last,  he  was  found  lying  in  the  bottom  of  a 
ditch,  and  covered  with  fern.  His  body,  depressed  with 
fatigue  and  hunger,  and  his  mind,  by  the  memory  of  past 
misfortunes,  and  the  prospect  of  future  ills,  he  burst  into 
tears  when  seized  by  his  enemies,  and  seemed  still  to  in- 
dulge the  fond  hope  and  the  desire  of  life.  He  wrote  to 
James  in  the  most  submissive  terms,  conjuring  him  to  spare 
the  issue  of  a  brother ;  and  the  king,  finding  such  symp- 
toms of  contrition  and  despondency  in  the  unhappy  pri- 
soner, admitted  him  into  his  presence,  in  hopes  of  extort- 
ing a  discovery  of  his  accomplices  ;  but  Monmouth  would 
not  purchase  life,  however  loved,  at  the  price  of  so  much 
infamy.  Finding  all  efforjs  vain,  he  prepared  himself  for 
death,  with  a  spirit  worthy  of  his  rank  and  character,  and 
was  attended  to  the  scaffold  by  the  tears  of  the  people,  with 
whom  he  had  ever  been  a  favourite. 

This  victory,  if  it  had  been  managed  with  prudence, 
would  have  tended  to  confirm  the  power  and  authority  of 
the  king;  but  the  cruelty  with  which  it  was  prosecuted 
by  the  savage  colonel  Kirk,  and  the  infamous  judge  Jef- 
feries,  hastened  the  ruin  of  James.  Besides  those  who 
were  butchered  by  the  military  commanders,  two  hundred 
and  fifty-one  victims  are  said  to  have  been  executed  ;  and 
all  the  rigours  of  justice,  unabated  by  any  appearance  of 
clemency,  were  fully  displayed  by  the  barbarous  Jefferies. 

In  Scotland,  the  fate  of  Argyle  had  been  decided  be- 
fore that  of  Monmouth.  The  parliament  of  that  country 
acknowledged  the  king's  authority  to  be  absolute ;  and 
with  such  a  servile  train,  the  patriotic  virtues  of  Argyle 
could  stand  no  chance  of  obtaining  a  pardon.     He  was 


364  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

seized,  and  carried  to  Edinburgh,  where,  after  enduring 
many  indignities,  he  was  publicly  executed. 

Elated  with  this  tide  of  short-lived  prosperity,  James 
began  to  undervalue  the  authority  of  an  English  parlia- 
ment ;  and  in  a  speech  to  that  assembly,  he  observed,  that 
he  had  employed  many  catholic  officers,  in  whose  favour 
he  had  dispensed  with  the  law,  which  requires  the  test  to 
be  taken  by  every  one  possessed  of  any  public  office  ;  and 
he  also  declared,  that,  having  received  the  benefit  of  their 
service,  he  was  resolved  neither  to  expose  them  afterwards 
to  disgrace,  nor  himself  to  the  want  of  their  assistance. 
The  commons  voted  an  address  to  the  king  against  the 
dispensing  power ;  but  this  address  was  ill  received  by 
James,  who  returned  a  haughty  reply.  At  their  next 
meeting,  the  commons  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of 
a  supply,  and  went  so  far  in  their  submissions  as  to  es- 
tablish funds  for  paying  the  sums  voted.  The  king  there- 
fore had,  in  effect,  obtained  almost  a  complete  victory 
over  the  lower  house,  which  ceased  to  be  the  guardian  of 
the  liberties  and  property  of  the  people. 

In  the  upper  house,  however,  Compton,  bishop  of  Lon- 
don, in  his  own  name  and  that  of  his  brethren,  moved 
that  a  day  should  be  appointed  for  taking  the  king's 
speech  into  consideration ;  and  notwithstanding  the  op- 
position of  Jefferies,  the  chancellor,  the  bishop's  motion 
prevailed.  James  was  so  much  irritated,  that  he  proceed- 
ed immediately  to  prorogue,  and  finding  that  he  could  not 
break  the  firmness  of  tne  leading  members,  he  finally  dis- 
solved the  parliament. 

The  open  declaration  of  James,  to  dispense  with  the 
tests,  had  diffused  an  universal  alarm  throughout  the  na- 
tion, had  alienated  the  church,  and  even  disgusted  the  ar- 
my. The  former  horror  against  popery  was  revived  ;  and 
this  was  further  increased  by  Louis  XIV.  having,  about 
the  same  time,  revoked  the  edict  of  Nantes,  in  consequence 
of  which,  nearly  fifty  thousand  refugees  passed  over  into 
England  ;  and,  from  their  representations,  all  men  dread- 
ed the  projects  which  were  supposed  to  be  formed  by  the 
king  for  abolishing  the  protestant  religion. 

Though  James  had  failed  in  prevailing  on  the  parlia- 
ment, he  was  successful  in 'establishing  his  dispensing 
power,  by  a  verdict  of  the  judges.    Four  catholic  lords 


JAMES  II.  365 

were  also  brought  into  the  privy-council ;  the  king  . 

was  openly  zealous  in  making  converts  ;  and  men  ,g^ 
plainly  saw,  that  the  only  means  of  acquiring  his 
majesty's  confidence,  was  the  sacrifice  of  their  religion. 
Those  who  had  any  regard  to  decency,  any  attachment  to 
the  liberties  of  their  country,  or  to  the  protestant  faith, 
now  withdrew  from  the  ministry,  or  were  dismissed,  and 
their  places  were  filled  with  renegadoes,  who  squared 
their  belief  by  their  interest. 

All  judicious  persons  of  the  catholic  communion  easily 
foresaw  the  consequences  of  these  violent  measures ;  but 
James  was  entirely  governed  by  the  rash  counsels  of  the 
queen,  and  of  his  confessor,  father  Peters,  a  Jesuit  and 
privy-counsellor.     The  king  issued  a  proclamation,  sus- 
pending all  the  penal  laws  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and 
granting  a  general  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  his  subjects. 
In  ofder  to  facilitate  the  reception  of  this  edict  of  tolera- 
tion, James  began  to  pay  court  to  the  dissenters ; 
but  his  intentions  were  so  obvious,  that  he  found  it  ^^^ 
impossible  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  the  non-con- 
formists ;  and  if  the  dissenters  had  been  blinded  by  his 
professions,  the  measures  pursued  in  Scotland,  and  also 
in  Ireland,  were  sufficient  to  discover  the  secret. 

James,  however,  did  not  long  affect  to  conceal  his  de- 
signs. He  publicly  sent  the  earl  of  Castlemaine  ambassa- 
dor-extraordinary to  Rome,  in  order  to  express'  his  obei- 
sance to  the  pope,  and  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  with 
the  holy  see ;  but  the  pontiff,  rightly  concluding  that  a 
scheme  conducted  with  such  indiscretion  could  never  suc- 
ceed, treated  the  ambassador  with  neglect,  and  thought  it 
sufficient  to  send  a  nuncio  to  England,  who  was  solemnly 
received  at  Windsor,  in  opposition  to  an  express  act  of 
parliament,  by  which  it  was  made  treason  to  hold  any 
correspondence  with  the  pope. 

By  virtue  of  his  prerogative,  James  had  suspended  the 
penal  laws,  and  dispensed  with  the  test ;  and  he  would 
gladly  have  obtained  the  sanction  of  parliament  to  these 
acts  of  power ;  but,  finding  that  impossible,  he  forebore  to 
convene  that  assembly,  and  proceeded  to  strengthen  the 
catholic  party  by  every  expedient.  The  church  and  the 
universities  had  hitherto  been  shut  against  the  catholics ; 
and  though  the  university  of  Oxford  had  lately  made  a  so- 
lemn profession  of  passive  obedience,  yet  whea  the  kiflg 
31* 


366  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

aent  a  mandate  for  appointing  one  Farmer,  a  convert  to 
popery,  president  of  Magdalen  college,  one  of  the  richest 
foundations  in  Europe,  the  fellows  chose  Dr.  Hough,  a 
man  whose  virtue  and  firmness  rendered  him  not  only 
proper  for  the  office  but  for  the  times.  On  inquiry,  Far- 
mer was  found  guilty  of  the  most  scandalous  vices  ;  and  a 
new  mandate  was  issued  in  favour  of  Parker,  lately  crea- 
ted bishop  of  Oxford,  a  man  also  of  a  prostitute  character, 
who  atoned  for  his  vices  by  his  willingness  to  embrace  the 
catholic  religion  ;  but  the  society  representing  that  by  the 
Statutes,  Parker  could  not  be  chosen,  the  president  and  all 
the  fellows,  except  two  who  complied,  were  expelled  the 
college  ;  and  Parker  was  appointed  president. 

The  next  measure  of  the  court  rendered  the  breach  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  ecclesiastics  incurable.     James 

had  published  a  second  declaration  of  indulgence, 
Ififtft  wmcn  he  ordered  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches, 

immediately  after  divine  service.  The  clergy  in 
general  determined  to  oppose  this  violence  done  to  their 
consciences ;  and  Lloyd,  bishop  of  St.  Asaph ;  Ken,  of 
Bath  and  Wells ;  Turner,  of  Ely  ;  Lake,  of  Chichester ; 
White,  of  Peterborough  ;  and  Trelawney,  of  Bristol,  met 
privately  with  the  primate,  and  drew  up  a  petition  to  the 
king,  that  he  would  not  insist  on  their  reading  the  declara- 
tion. For  this  the  prelates  were  committed  to  the  Tower ; 
and  the  crown  lawyers  were  directed  to  prosecute  them  for 
the  seditious  libel,  which  it  was  pretended,  they  had  com- 
posed and  uttered. 

The  bishops,  however,  notwithstanding  the  machina- 
tions of  the  court,  were  acquitted  ;  and  the  joy  which  the 
intelligence  of  this  event  diffused  throughout  the  kingdom 
is  indescribable.  The  army  encamped  on  Hounslow-heath 
soon  caught  the  contagion ;  and  James,  who  had  that  day 
reviewed  the  troops,  and  was  in  the  general's  tent,  was 
surprised  to  hear  a  general  uproar  in  the  camp ;  inquiring 
the  cause,  he  was  told  by  Lord  Feversham,  "  it  was  no- 
thing but  the  rejoicing  of  the  soldiers  for  the  acquittal  of 
the  bishops."  "  Do  you  call  that  nothing]"  replied  he, 
"  but  so  much  the  worse  for  them."  Nothing,  however, 
could  check  the  mad  career  of  James.  He  struck  out 
two  of  the  judges  who  had  appeared  to  favour  the  bishops ; 
and  he  issued  orders  to  prosecute  all  those  clergymen  who 
had  not  read  his  declaration ;  and  to  the  honour  of  the 


JAMES    II.  367 

established  church  be  it  recorded,  that  only  two  hundred 
complied  with  his  edict. 

A  few  days  before  the  acquittal  of  the  bishops,  the  queen 
was  delivered  of  a  son,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  king  and  all 
zealous  catholics  ;  but  so  violent  was  the  animosity  against 
the  court,  that  calumny  ascribed  to  James  the  design  of 
imposing  on  the  world  a  supposititious  child.  He  was 
baptized  by  the  name  of  James,  and  was  afterwards  known 
by  the  title  of  "  the  pretender." 

The  prince  of  Orange,  who  had  married  the  princess 
Mary  of  England,  eldest  daughter  of  the  king,  had  main- 
tained a  very  prudent  conduct ;  and  James  strongly  soli- 
cited the  consent  of  the  prince  to  the  repeal  of  the  penal 
statutes  and  of  the  test ;  but  the  latter  declared  his  refusal 
to  concur  in  these  measures,  unless  the  same  should  be 
sanctioned  by  parliament.  This  declaration  gave  courage 
to  the  protestants,  while  it  excited  the  indignation  of  James, 
who  prepared  to  make  war  on  the  United  States.  Many 
persons  of  consequence  and  talents,  flying  from  England, 
offered  their  services  to  William,  and  requested  his  active 
interference. 

The  prince,  after  duly  weighing  the  matter,  and  finding 
the  whigs,  the  tories,  the  churchmen,  and  the  non-con- 
formists, forgetting  their  animosities,  all  leagued  in  the 
design  of  resisting  their  deluded  sovereign,  yielded  to  the 
very  respectable  and  numerous  applications  that  had  been 
made  to  him  ;  and  having  secretly  augmented  the  Dutch 
navy,  levied  troops,  and  raised  considerable  sums  of  mo- 
ney, he  waited  for  a  favourable  opportunity  of  embarking 
for  England,  which  regarded  him  as  its  sole  protector. 

Louis,  who  had  penetrated  the  designs  of  the  prince, 
conveyed  the  intelligence  to  James  ;  but  the  king  treated 
the  information  with  contempt,  and  refused  the  assistance 
which  the  French  monarch  offered  on  this  occasion.  At 
last,  however,  when  convinced  that  he  might  soon  expect 
a  powerful  invasion  from  Holland,  James  opened  his  eyes, 
and  found  himself  on  the  brink  of.  a  frightful  precipice. 
He  now  began  to  retract  those  fatal  measures  which  had 
created  him  so  many  foreign  and  domestic  enemies ;  but 
when  intelligence  arrived,  that  a  great  disaster  had  befallen 
the  Dutch  fleet,  he  recalled,  for  some  time,  the  concessions 
Iffhich  he  had  made. 

Meanwhile,  a  declaration  from  the  prince  of  Orange  was 


368  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

dispersed  over  the  kingdom,  and  met  with  universal  appro- 
bation. All  the  grievances  of  the  nation  were  there  enu- 
merated ;  and  to  redress  these,  the  prince  said,  that  he  in- 
tended to  come  over  into  England  with  an  armed  force. 

After  a  prosperous  voyage,  he  landed  his  army  safely 
in  Torbay,  on  the  fifth  day  of  November,  and,  marching 
to  Exeter,  caused  his  declaration  to  be  there  pub- 
lfiS8  lished.  By  degrees,  all  England  was  in  commo- 
tion ;  and  every  day  showed  some  effect  of  that 
universal  combination  into  which  the  nation  had  entered 
against  the  measures  of  the  king ;  but  the  most  dangerous 
symptom  was  the  disaffection  of  the  army,  all  the  officers 
of  which  seemed  disposed  to  regard  only  the  interests  of 
their  country  and  their  religion.  Lord  Cornbuzy  carried 
over  three  regiments  to  the  prince ;  and  several  officers 
informed  Feversham,  the  general,  that  they  could  not  in 
conscience  draw  their  swords  against  the  D.utch.  Even 
lord  Churchill,  who  had  been  raised  from  the  rank  of  a 
page,  and  owed  his  whole  fortune  to  the  bounty  of  the 
crown,  influenced  by  principle  alone,  deserted  his  master, 
and  carried  with  him  the  duke  of  Grafton,  natural  son  to 
the  late  king. 

James,  however,  received  a  still  more  fatal  blow  in  the 
defection  of  George,  Prince  of  Denmark,  his  son-in-law, 
and  his  daughter  Anne,  who  both  joined  the  prince.  When 
intelligence  of  this  reached  the  king,  the  unfortunate  sove- 
reign burst  into  tears.  "  God  help  me,"  cried  he,  in  the 
extremity  of  his  agony,  "  my  own  children  have  forsaken 
me  !"  His  last  acts  of  authority  were  to  issue  writs  for  a 
new  parliament,  and  to  send  Halifax,  Nottingham,  and 
Godolphin,  as  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  prince  of 
Orange.  He  even  hearkened  to  imprudent  counsel,  by 
which  he  was  prompted  to  desert  the  throne.  Alarmed 
by  the  general  disaffection,  and  impelled  by  his  own  fears 
and  those  of  others,  James  precipitately  embraced  the  re- 
solution of  escaping  into  France  ;  and,  having  previously 
sent  off  the  queen  and  the  infant  prince,  he  himself  dis- 
appeared in  the  night-time,  and  hastened  to  embark  and 
follow  them. 

By  this  rash  act,  the  reins  of  the  government  were 
thrown  up,  and  the  populace  became  masters  ;  and  rising 
in  a  tumultuous  manner,  they  destroyed  the  mass-houses, 
and  rifled  the  places  in  which  the  catholics  had  lodged 


> 


JAMES   II. 

ts.     Jefferies, 

vas  discoverr 

consequent 

to  sooner 

s  troops,  \v 

Ter,  Jam 
•eturn  t 
on, 

j 


.i'ORY  OP  ENGL 


Qw«e»  Margaret  and  the  Robber. 


Judge  Jefferies  seized  by  the  People. 


JAMES  II.  369 

■ 

l;heir  most  valuable  effects.  Jefferies,  the  chancellor,  who 
had  disguised  himself,  was  discovered,  and  treated  with 
the  greatest  severity,  in  consequence  of  which  he  died 
!?oon  after.  Feversham  no  sooner  heard  of  the  king's 
ilight,  than  he  disbanded  his  troops,  without  either  disarm- 
ng  or  paying  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  James  had  been  seized  at 
Feversham,  and  obliged  to  return  to  London,  where  the 
Dopulace,  moved  by  compassion,  or  actuated  by  loyalty, 
received  him  with  shouts  and  acclamations.  During  his 
abode  at  Whitehall,  little  attention  was  paid  him  ;  and  de- 
siring permission  to  retire  to  Rochester,  a  town  near  the 
sea  coast,  his  request  was  immediately  granted.  He  pri- 
vately embarked  on  board  a  frigate  which  waited  for  him, 
and  arrived  safely  at  Ambletouse,  in  Picardy,  whence  he 
hastened  to  St.  Germain's.  Louis  received  him  with  the 
greatest  generosity  and  respect,  a  circumstance  more  ho- 
nourable to  him  than  his  most  splendid  victories. 

Thus  ended  the  reign  of  James  ;  a  prince  who  possess- 
ed many  of  the  qualities  which  form  a  good  citizen,  but 
whose  bigotry  and  arbitrary  principles  rendered  him  odious 
as  a  king.  In  domestic  life,  his  conduct  was  irreproach- 
able ;  and  even  while  he  was  sacrificing  every  thing  to  the 
advancement  of  popery,  his  frugality  of  the  public  money 
was  remarkable,  and  his  jealousy  of  the  national  honour 
Commendable ;  but  his  invasion  of  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  tarnished  every  other  virtue,  and  his  disre- 
gard to  the  religion  and  constitution  of  his  country  could 
not  be  compensated  by  any  other  qualities.  In  principle, 
he  was  a  despot  and  a  bigot ;  and  his  abdication  of  the 
throne,  and  consequent  exclusion,  have  proved  the  happi- 
ness of  this  kingdom. 

Thus  the  prince  of  Orange,  with  little  effusion  of  blood, 
effected  the  deliverance  of  England,  and  dethroned  a  king 
possessed  of  a  formidable  navy  and  a  pumerous  army. 
Still  a  more  difficult  task  remained,  to  obtain  for  himself 
that  crown  which  had  fallen  from  the  head  of  his- father 
in-law.  To  claim  it  by  right  of  conquest  would  have  been 
destructive  to  the  principles  of  liberty,  which  he  professed 
to  establish ;  and  he  wisely  resolved  to  leave  the  settle- 
ment of  this  important  affair  to  the  guidance  and  direction 
of  the  nation. 

In  the  convention  which  was  assembled,  it  was  evident 


370  HISTORY    OF   ENGLAND. 

that  the  whig  party  chiefly  prevailed ;  and  the  com- 
1*i)Q  mons  sent  up  a  vote  to  the  peers,  "that  king 
James  II.  having  endeavoured  to  subvert  the  con 
stitution  of  the  kingdom,  by  breaking  the  original  contract 
between  the  king  and  the  people  ;  and  having,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  Jesuits  and  other  wicked  persons,  violated  the  fun- 
damental laws,  and  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the  kingdom, 
has  abdicated  the  government,  and  that  the  throne  is  there- 
by vacant."  This  vote,  when  carried  to  the  upper  house, 
met  with  great  opposition  ;  and  the  last  clause,  which  de- 
clared the  throne  vacaut,  was  omitted ;  but  the  commons 
still  insisted  on  their  original  vote,  and  some  peers  desert- 
ing to  the  whig  interest,  the  whole  was  passed,  and  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  both  houses. 

During  these  debates,  the  prince  had  maintained  a  re- 
spectful silence ;  but,  at  length,  he  expressed  his  senti- 
ments on  the  present  situation  of  affairs.  He  observed, 
that  some  insisted  on  appointing  a  regent,  and  that  others 
were  desirous  of  bestowing  the  crown  on  the  princess  Mary 
alone ;  that  though  he  pretended  not  to  interfere  in  their 
deliberation,  he  thought  it  incumbent  on  him  to  inform 
them,  that  he  was  determined  not  to  be  the  regent,  nor 
would  he  accept  a  crown  which  depended  on  the  life  or 
will  of  another ;  and,  therefore,  if  they  were  inclined  to 
cither  of  these  two  plans  of  settlement,  it  would  be  wholly 
out  of  his  power  to  give  them  any  further  assistance. 

The  princess  seconded  the  views  of  her  husband,  and 
the  princess  Anne  agreeing  to  be  postponed  in  the  suc- 
cession to  the  crown,  facilitated  the  public  settlement. 
The  principal  parties  being  thus  agreed,  the  convention 
passed  a  bill,  settling  the  crown  on  the  prince  and  princess 
of  Orange,  the  sole  administration  to  remain  in  the  prince ; 
the  princess  Anne  to  succeed  after  the  death  of  the  prince 
and  princess  of  Orange  ;  and  her  issue  after  those  of  the 
princess,  but  before  those  of  the  prince  by  any  other  wife. 
To  this  settlement  the  convention  annexed  a  declaration 
of  rights,  in  which  the  powers  of  royal  prerogative  were 
more  narrowly  circumscribed,  and  more  exactly  denned, 
than  at  any  former  period. 

Soon  after,  similar  resolutions  having  been  passed  by 
the  Scottish  convention,  William  and  Mary  were  proclaim- 
ed in  both  kingdoms. 


1 


WILLIAM  AND  MARY.  371 

CHAP.  XVIII. 

The  reign  of  William  and  Mary. 

The  revolution,  as  it  is  called,  formed  a  new  epoch  in 
the  constitution,  which  now  assumed  a  different  aspect ; 
and,  it  may  be  affirmed,  without  any  danger  of  ex- 
aggeration, that,  since  that  period,  the  British  have  %^k 
enjoyed  a  system  of  government  the  most  perfect 
and  the  most  free  that  was  ever  established  in  the  world. 

While,  however,  William  and  Mary  were  thus  peacea- 
bly established  on  the  throne  of  Great  Britain,  a  very  dif- 
ferent scene  presented  itself  in  Ireland.  The  catholics 
in  that  country  saw  with  reluctance  the  events  which  had 
taken  place,  and  testified  their  adherence  to  James. 

The  earl  of  Tyrconnel,  the  lord  deputy,  disguised  his 
sentiments,  and  amused  William  with  false  hopes  of  sub- 
mission, till  James  should  be  able  to  supply  him  with  re- 
inforcements from  France,  which  he  earnestly  solicited  by 
private  messages. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  whigs,  who  were  the  prevailing 
party  in  the  state,  determined  that  the  revenue  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  king's  household,  and  the  support  of 
his  dignity,  should  be  granted  from  one  year  to  another 
only,  in  order  that  William,  finding  himself  constantly  de- 
pendant on  parliament,  might  endeavour  to  merit  a  re- 
newal of  the  grant  by  a  just  and  popular  government. 
The  king,  however,  was  disgusted  with  these  restraints, 
which  he  considered  as  marks  of  distrust ;  and  the  tories 
seized  this  occasion  to  foment  his  jealousy  against  their 
adversaries.  William  recommended  to  parliament  a  bill 
of  indemnity,  as  the  most  effectual  means  of  putting  an 
end  to  all  controversies  and  distinctions  ;  but  this  was  de- 
feated for  some  time  by  the  address  of  the  whigs,  who 
were  sensible  that  the  bill  would  open  a  way  to  the  prefer- 
ment of  the  tories.  The  two  parties,  however,  were  now 
so  equally  balanced  in  parliament,  that  the  bill  for  restoring 
corporations  to  their  ancient  rights  passed  by  one  vote  only, 
with  the  rejection  of  two  clauses  against  those  who  had 
been  concerned  in  the  surrender  of  charters. 

The  king  found  himself  so  perplexed  between  two  fac- 
tions, which  he  equally  feared,  that  he  had  resolved  to 
leave  the  government  in  the  queen's  hands,  and  retire  into 


372  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND, 

Holland ;  but  he  was  dissuaded  from  this  purpose  by  the 
marquis  of  Caermarthen  and  other  noblemen  whom  he 
Consulted,  and  finding  the  tories  more  compliant,  he  be- 
gan to  gratify  them  at  the  expense  of  the  whigs.  The  lat- 
ter were  foiled  or  out-voted  in  several  favourite  schemes ; 
and  the  earl  of  Shrewsbury  resented  this  so  highly,  that  he 
resigned  his  office  of  secretary  of  state. 

William  having  wholly  given  himself  up  to  the  politic 
Of  the  tories,  was  soon  gratified  with  the  hereditary  excise 
during  life,  and  the  customs  for  four  years.  The  bill  of 
indemnity,  so  earnestly  recommended  by  the  king,  was 
also  passed,  with  the  exception  of  thirty  persons. 

At  this  period,  the  great  scheme  which  William  had 
projected,  of  a  confederacy  against  France,  began  to  take 
effect.  The  emperor  negotiated  an  alliance,  offensive  and 
defensive,  with  the  States  General ;  and  Spain  and  Eng- 
land were  invited  to  accede  to  the  treaty.  William,  who 
was  at  the  head  of  this  confederacy,  found  no  difficulty  in 
persuading  the  English  to  undertake  a  war  against  their 
ancient  rivals ;  and  the  commons  unanimously  resolved, 
that  in  case  his  majesty  should  think  fit  to  engage  in  hos- 
tilities with  France,  they  would  enable  him  to  carry  on  the 
war  with  vigour.  This  was  very  agreeable  to  the  king 
and  war  was  immediately  declared  against  the  French 
monarch. 

Louis  XIV.,  who  had  long  rendered  himself  the  terror 
and  the  scourge  of  Europe,  was  not  dejected  by  this  con- 
federacy against  him.  He  supplied  James  with  a  consi- 
derable fleet  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland,  and  the  ex-prince, 
with  about  twelve  hundred  British  subjects,  and  several  of 
the  most  distinguished  French  officers,  landed  at  Kin- 
sale,  on  the  22d  of  March,  1689.  The  earl  of  Tyrconnel 
had  assembled  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  foot,  and  eight 
thousand  horse,  for  the  service  of  his  master;  and  the 
whole  kingdom,  except  the  city  of  Londonderry,  received 
James  with  submission. 

Finding  his  affairs  in  Ireland  in  a  desperate  state,  and 
that  he  had  been  deceived  by  those  in  whom  he  had  con- 
fided, William  determined  to  pass  over  into  that  island  in 
person.     A  general  engagement  took  place  on  the  banks 
of  the  Boyne,  in  which  the  Irish  were  entirely  de- 

IfiQO  ^eatec' »  ano'  James  retired  to  Dublin,  whence  he  fled 
a  second  time  into  France ;  but  the  hopes  and  the 
spirits  of  his  party  were  not  yet  vanquished. 


WILLIAM  AND  MARY*  373 

A  French  fleet  being  discovered  off  Plymouth,  the  earl 
of  Torrington,  the  English  admiral,  reinforced  with  a  Dutch 
squadron,  put  to  sea,  in  order  to  intercept  the  enemy,  if  an 
attempt  should  be  made  to  sail  up  the  channel.  After  the 
hostile  fleets  had  continued  in  sight  of  each  other  for  five 
days,  lord  Torrington  bore  down  upon  the  enemy  off  Blea- 
chey  Head ;  and  an  engagement  ensued,  in  which  the  Eng- 
lish were  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  two  of  their  own  ships, 
and  of  six  vessels  belonging  to  the  Dutch.  A  camp  was 
immediately  formed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Torbay,  where 
the  French  seemed  to  threaten  a  descent ;  but  their  fleet, 
after  setting  fire  to  the  small  village  of  Teignmouth,  and 
burning  a  few  coasting  vessels,  returned  to  Brest. 

The  news  of  the  victory  obtained  by  the  French  fleet 
effaced  all  thoughts  of  submission  on  the  part  of  the  Irish, 
and  an  offer  of  indemnity  from  William,  to  those  who 
would  lay  down  their  arms,  produced  little  effect.  This, 
however,  only  increased  the  misery  of  that  unhappy  coun- 
try, which  suffered  from  both  parties ;  but,  at  length,  the 
French  forces  embarked  for  their  own  country :  and  Wil- 
liam, having  constituted  the  lord  Sydney  and  Thomas  Co- 
ningsby  lord-justices  of  Ireland,  and  left  the  command  of 
the  army  with  eount  de  Solmes  and  baron  de  Ginkle,  re- 
turned to  England  with  prince  George  of  Denmark. 

Next  year  the  Irish  rebels  were  entirely  reduced,  and  a 
capitulation  was  executed,  extending  to  all  the  places  in 
that  kingdom  which  had  not  yet  submitted.     By  it,  the 
catholics  were  restored  to  the  same  rights  and  pri- 
vileges as  they  had  enjoyed  under  Charles  II. ;  and  |  J?q| 
twelve  thousand  of  the  determined  adherents  of 
James  were  allowed  to  transport  themselves  to  France. 

The  conquest  of  Ireland  being  thus  effected,  the  French 
king  resolved  to  invade  England  during  the  absence  of 
William,  who  had  sailed  for  Holland,  in  order  to  promote 
the  measures  of  the  grand  confederacy.  Louis  seemed 
warmly  engaged  in  the  interest  of  James  ;  and  the  Jaco- 
bites* in  Englawd  were  assured,  that  their  lawful  sovereign 
would  revisit  his  British  dominions  at  the  head  of  thirty 
thousand  men. 

Accordingly,  a  considerable  body  of  French  forces,  and 

*  A  term  given  to  the  partisans  of  James,  or  the  adherents  of  the 
ex-family. 

32 


374  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

many  fugitive  Irish  and  Scots,  assembled  between  Cher* 
bourgh  and  La  Hogue,  commanded  by  James  in  person ; 
while  a  French  fleet,  of  sixty-three  ships  of  the  line,  under 
admiral  Tourville,  was  appointed  to  convoy  the  troops. 
Admiral  Russel,  with  a  fleet  of  ninety-nine  ships  of  the 
line,  English  and  Dutch,  besides  frigates  and  fire-ships, 
set  sail  for  the  coast  of  France.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
1692,  the  hostile  fleets  met  off  La  Hogue ;  and  after  a 
bloody  contest  of  nearly  twelve  hours,  victory  declared  in 
favour  of  the  English.  The  French  lost  fifteen  ships  of 
the  line ;  and  this  defeat  reduced  James  to  the  greatest 
despondence,  and  overwhelmed  his  friends  in  England 
with  despair. 

The  war,  however,  was  continued  on  the  continent  for 
some  years,  with  various  success ;  but  at  last  it  was  ter- 
minated by  the  treaty  of  Rhyswick,  with  no  advan- 
I^q^  tage  to  England  beyond  honour  and  independence, 
and  with  the  burden  of  a  national  debt  which  has 
since  increased  to  an  enormous  amount. 

The  terrors  of  a  standing  army  produced  a  general  fer- 
ment in  the  nation  ;  and  the  king  was  extremely  mortified, 
when  the  commons  voted,  that  the  number  of  standing 
forces  should  be  reduced  to  ten  thousand.  The  earl  of 
Sunderland,  who  had  advised  the  unpopular  measure  of  a 
standing  army,  dreading  the  vengeance  of  the  commons, 
resigned  his  office. 

William  at  this  time  revolved  in  his  mind  the  settling  of 
the  succession  of  the  throne  of  Spain,  which  would  shortly 
be  vacated  by  the  death  of  Charles  II. ;  and  he,  therefore, 
directed  that  sixteen  thousand  men  should  be  retained  in 
the  service.  When  the  new  parliament  met,  the  commons 
were  so  irritated  at  the  king's  presuming  to  maintain  a 
greater  number  of  troops  than  their  predecessors  had  voted, 
that  they  passed  a  resolution  that  the  army  in  England 
and  Wales  should  be  disbanded  by  a  fixed  day,  with  the 
exception  of  seven  thousand  men,  who  were  judged  suffi- 
cient for  guards  and  garrisons. 

William  was  highly  indignant  at  the  conduct  of  his  mi- 
nisters and  the  parliament ;  but  when  the  bill  was  ready 
for  the  royal  assent,  he  went  to  the  house  of  peers,  and 
having  sent  for  the  commons,  he  told  them,  that  though  he 
considered  himself  unkindly  treated,  in  being  deprived  of 
his  Dutch  guards,  yet  as  nothing  could  be  more  fatal  to  the 


WILLIAM  AND  MARY.  375 

nation,  than  a  distrust  between  him  and  the  parliament,  he 
had  come  to  pass  the  bill,  according  to  their  desire. 

The  opening  of  a  new  parliament  promised  more  cordi- 
ality, and  the  commons  in  an  address  desired  his  majesty 
to  enter  into  such  negociations  with  the  States-Ge- 
neral and  other  potentates,  as  might  most  effectu-  i*™ 
ally  conduce  to  the  mutual  safety  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  Provinces,  as  well  as  to  the  preservation  of 
the  peace  of  Europe.     They  also  settled  the  succession,  in 
case  the  princess  Anne  should  die  without  issue,  on  Sophia 
of  Hanover,  and  her  heirs,  being  protestants. 

The  treaty  of  partition,  however,  into  which  William 
had  entered  with  the  court  of  France,  for  the  division  of 
the  Spanish  dominions  on  the  death  of  the  reigning  sove- 
reign, gave  great  offence.  Among  the  competitors  for  that 
crown,  the  dauphin,  who  had  married  the  king  of  Spain's 
daughter,  was  to  be  allowed  to  possess  the  greatest  part  of 
Italy ;  and  other  allotments  were  made,  which  tended  to 
lessen  the  danger  of  one  person  succeeding  to  too  exten- 
sive dominions.  In  order  to  frustrate  the  objects  of  the 
confederacy,  \he  king  of  Spain  by  will  nominated  the  duke 
of  Anjou,  second  son  of  the  dauphin,  heir  to  all  his  domi- 
nions ;  by  which  means  he  detached  the  French  monarch 
from  the  union  he  had  formed. 

The  parliament,  in  order  to  evince  their  resentment  at 
the  clandestine  treaty  of  partition,  ordered  an  impeachment 
of  lord  Somers,  the  earl  of  Orford,  and  the  earl  of  Halifax, 
but  the  commons  not  appearing  to  prosecute,  the  three 
lords  were  acquitted  ;  and  William,  encouraged  by  a  peti- 
tion from  the  county  of  Kent,  and  the  general  voice  of  the 
people,  entered  into  a  league  with  the  emperor  and  the 
States-General,  the  principal  objects  of  which  were  the  re- 
covery of  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  as  a  barrier  for  Hol- 
land, and  of  Milan  for  the  emperor. 

King  James  expired  at  St.  Germain's,  and  was  interred, 
at  his  own  request,  in  the. church  of  the  English  Benedic- 
tines, in  Paris,  without  any  funeral  solemnity.  Before  his 
death  he  was  visited  by  the  French  monarch,  who  declared 
that  he  would  acknowledge  his  son  as  king  of  England. 
Accordingly,  when  James  died,  the  pretended  prince  of 
Wales  was  proclaimed  king  of  England,  and  treated  as 
such  at  the  court  of  Versailles. 

In  his  speech  to  the  parliament,  William  enlarged  on 


376  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

this  indignity  offered  to  the  nation  by  the  French  king ; 
and  explained  the  dangers  to  which  England  was  exposed 
by  that  monarch  placing  his  grandson  on  the  throne  of 
Spain.  In  an  address  to  his  majesty,  the  commons  voted 
that  no  peace  should  be  concluded  with  France,  till  repa- 
ration should  be  made  to  the  king  and  nation,  for  owning 
and  declaring  the  pretended  prince  of  Wales,  king  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Ireland.  They  also  voted  a  large  sup- 
ply ;  and  they  agreed  that  the  proportion  of  the  land  for- 
ces, to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  allies,  should  be  forty 
thousand  men,  and  that  forty  thousand  seamen  should  be 
employed  for  the  service  of  the  ensuing  year. 

The  health  of  William  had  been  declining  for  some 
time  ;  but  he  endeavoured  to  conceal  the  inroads  which  he 
felt  were  making  in  his  constitution,  in  order  that  the  al- 
lies might  not  be  discouraged  from  engaging  in  a  confe- 
deracy of  which  he  was  considered  the  chief.     In  riding  to 
Hampton  Court  from  Kensington,  his  collar-bone  was 
broken  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  ;  and  this  hasten- 
1 702  ec*  ^s  dissolution.     He  expired  on  the  eighth  day 
of  March,  of  a  fever  and  asthma,  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  his  reign.    His  amiable  consort,  Mary,  had  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  small-pox  a  few  years  before. 

William  III.  was  in  his  person  small  and  slender.  He 
had  an  aquiline  nose,  a  large  forehead,  and  a  grave  as- 
pect. His  genius  was  penetrating,  and  his  judgment 
sound ;  but  in  his  manners  he  was  distant,  and  better  quali- 
fied to  gain  respect  than  love.  He  was  religious,  tempe- 
rate, just,  and  sincere.  England,  in  some  respects,  gained 
very  much  by  the  revolution,  while  in  others,  it  was  a  se- 
vere sufferer.  The  system  of  borrowing  money  on  remote 
funds,  which  began  in  this  reign,  has  been  attended  with 
the  most  pernicious  consequences  ;  and  a  standing  army, 
which  was  first  sanctioned  by  parliament  in  the  time*  of 
William,  now  seems  interwoven  with  the  constitution ; 
but  when  we  consider  the  noble  stand  which  William 
made  for  the  freedom  of  Europe,  against  the  ambitious 
projects  and  dangerous  influence  of  France,  we. must  ac- 
knowledge, that  he  possessed  qualities  of  the  first  order, 
which  entitle  him  to  the  applause  and  respect  of  mankind. 

In  1694,  the  bank  of  England,  and  the  salt  and  stamp- 
offices,  were  established. 


ANNE.  377 

OHAP.  XIX 

The  reign  of  Queen  Anne. 

Anne,  princess  of  Denmark,  the  eldest  surviving  daugh- 
ter of  James  the   Second,  ascended  the  throne  on  the 
death  of  William,  with  the  general  satisfaction  of. 
all  parties.     She  was  now  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  * 1^ 
of  her  age,  and  by  her  husband,  George,  prince  of 
Denmark,  had  a  numerous  offspring,  all  of  which  died  in 
infancy,  except  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  who,  after  giving 
promises  of  future  worth,  was  seized  with  a  malignant  fe- 
ver, which  put  an  end  to  his  existence  in  the  eleventh  year 
of  his  age.  « 

Anne  had  received  great  mortifications  in  the  late  reign ; 
but  she  conducted  herself  with  so  much  discretion,  that 
little  or  no  pretence  for  censure  or  resentment  could  be 
alleged.  The  facility  of  her  disposition,  however,  render- 
ed her  the  dupe  of  interested  and  artful  dependents  ;  and 
it  was  owing  to  this  that  a  serious  misunderstanding  had 
taken  place  between  her  and  the  late  king  and  queen, 
which  continued  till  the  death  of  the  latter.  Anne  had 
been  taught  to  consider  the  tories  as  friends  of  the  monar- 
chy, and  the  true  sons  of  the  church  ;  and  they  had  al- 
ways professed  an  inviolable  attachment  to  her  person  and 
interest. 

The  death  of  William  excited  the  greatest  consterna- 
tion throughout  Holland;  but  the  anxiety  of  the  States- 
General  was  relieved,  by  the  arrival  of  the  earl  of  Marl- 
borough, who  assured*  them  that  her  majesty  would  ad- 
here to  all  the  stipulations  which  had  been  entered  into  by 
the  late  king. 

In  her  first  speech  to  parliament,  Anne  made  the  most 
conciliatory  declaration  of  her  views  and  principles  ;  and 
in  return,  they  settled  on  her,  during  life,  the  same  reve- 
nue as  had  been  enjoyed  by  the  late  king.  When  the  bill 
received  the  royal  assent,  the  queen  assured  them,  that  one 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  this  revenue  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  public  service  of  the  year. 

When  the  subject  of  the  intended   war  was  debated  in 

the  queen's  privy-council,  the  earl  of  Rochester,  maternal 

uncle  to  the  queen,  proposed  that  the  English  should  act 

only  as  auxiliaries,  and  that  the  chief  burden  of  the  war 

32* 


378  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

should  be  borne  by  the  continental  allies,  who  had  most 
to  fear  from  the  power  of  France  ;  but  the  earl  of  Marl- 
borough observed,  that  France  could  never  be  reduced 
within  due  limits,  unless  the  English  entered  as  princi- 
pals in  the  quarrel.  The  opinion  of  Marlborough  prevail- 
ed ;  and  he  was  also  appointed  captain-general  of  all  her 
majesty's  forces,  to  be  employed  in  conjunction  with  the 
troops  of  the  allies. 

The  Dutch  too,  to  whom  the  earl  had  been  sent  ambas- 
sador-extraordinary, gave  him  the  same  appointment  over 
their  forces ;  and  the  allies  having  promised  to  furnish 
their  quotas  of  troops,  every  thing  was  concerted  for  com- 
mencing the  war,  the  avowed  object  of  which,  as  far  as 
concerned  England,  was  to  put  the  house  of  Austria  in 
possession  or*  the  throne  of  Spain,  and  to  procure  a  barrier 
for  the  Dutch  in  the  Netherlands. 

Marlborough,  at  the  head  of  sixty  thousand  men,  took 
the  field  in  the  month  of  July,  and  obliged  the  duke  of 
Burgundy,  who  commanded  the  French  army,  to  retire 
before   the    allied  troops,    and  to  leave    Spanish 
1702  Guelderland   exposed.      The  town  and  castle  of 
Werk  surrendered  ;  Venlo  capitulated  ;  and'Rure- 
monde  was  reduced  after  an  obstinate  defence.    Boufflers, 
whom  Burgundy  had  left  in  the  command,  confounded  at 
the  rapidity  of  Marlborough's  success,  retired  towards 
Liege  ;  but,  at  the  approach  of  the  confederates,  he  direct- 
ed his  march  towards  Brabant ;  and  Marlborough  took 
that  city  by  assault,  in  which  the  allies  found  considerable 
public  booty. 

Meanwhile,  the  combined  fleets  of  England  and  Hol- 
land, under  the  command  of  sir  George  Rooke,  after  an 
unsuccessful  attack  on  Cadiz,  captured  the  Spanish  gal- 
leons at  Vigo,  with  riches  to  the  amount  of  seven  million 
pieces  of  eight. 

Marlborough,  who  arrived  in  England  about  the  latter 
end  of  November,  received  the  thanks  of  the  house  of  com- 
mons for  his  great  and  signal  services,  which  were  so  ac- 
ceptable to  the  queen,  that  she  created  him  a  duke,  and 
complimented  him  with  a  grant  of  five  thousand  pounds 
per  annum  out  of  the  post-office.  About  the  same  time, 
the  parliament  settled  the  yearly  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds  on  George,  prince  of  Denmark,  the 
queen's  consort,  in  case  he  should  survive  her. 


ANNE.  379 

In  the  next  campaign,  the  duke  of  Marlborough,  being 
unable  to  provoke  marshal  Villeroy  to  hazard  a  battle,  was 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  the  capture  of 
Bonne,  Huy,  Limburgh,  and  Gueldres.    The  duke  j^™ 
was  restricted  in  his  enterprises  by  the  deputies  of 
the  States-General,  who  began  to  be  influenced  by  the  in- 
trigues of  the  Louvestein  faction. 

In  the  beginning  of  next  year,  the  duke  of  Marlborough 
assembled  his  army  at  Maestricht ;  and  having  concerted 
the  plan  of  operations  with  the  States,  he  crossed 
the  Rhine  at  Coblentz.     After  effecting  a  junction  ly^l 
with  prince  Eugene  and  the  imperialists,  the  allied 
army,  on  the  second  day  of  July,  attacked  the  Bavarians 
in  their  intrenchments  at  Donavert ;  and,  after  an  obsti- 
nate resistance,  succeeded  in  defeating  the  enemy,  who 
left  six  thousand  men  dead  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  elector  of  Bavaria,  being  joined  by  marshal  Tal- 
lard,  crossed  the  Danube.  The  duke  of  Marlborough  and 
prince  Eugene  found  the  enemy  advantageously  posted 
upon  a  hill  near  Hochstadt,  their  right  being  covered  by 
the  Danube  and  the  village  of  Blenheim,  their  left  by  the 
village  of  Lutzingem,  and  their  front  by  a  rivulet,  the 
banks  of  which  were  steep,  and  the  bottom  marshy.  Not- 
withstanding these  difficulties,  the  generals  resolved  to  at- 
tack the  French  and  Bavarians,  whose  army  amounted  to 
sixty  thousand  men.  Marshal  Tallard  commanded  on  the 
right,  and  threw  twenty-seven  battalions,  with  twelve 
squadrons,  into  the  village  of  Blenheim,  where  he  sup- 
posed the  allies  would  make  their  chief  effort ;  their  left 
was  conducted  by  the  elector  of  Bavaria,  assisted  by  Mar- 
sin,  a  French  general  of  experience* 

The  duke  of  Marlborough,  taking  advantage  of  the  in- 
judicious arrangement  of  his  opponent,  ordered  the  villa- 
ges to  be  attacked  by  his  infantry,  and  with  his  horse  in 
person  fell  on  the  French  cavalry,  commanded  by  marshal 
Tallard.  After  several  charges,  the  French  horse  were 
totally  subdued,  and  driven  into  the  Danube,  where  most 
of  them  perished  ;  and  ten  battalions  of  foot  were  at  the 
same  time  charged  on  all  sides,  and  cut  to  pieces.  The 
elector  of  Bavaria  made  a  resolute  defence  against  prince 
Eugene,  but,  at  length,  was  obliged  to  give  way.  The 
confederates  being  now  masters  of  the  field,  surrounded 
the  village  of  Blenheim ;  and  the  twenty-seven  battalions 


380  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


\ 


and  twelve  squadrons,  despairing  of  forcing  their  way 
through  the  allies,  surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of 
war. 

Never  was  a  victory  more  complete.  Ten  thousand 
French  and  Bavarians  were  left  dead  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle ;  the  greater  part  of  thirty  squadrons  of  horse  perished 
in  the  Danube  ;  and  thirteen  thousand  were  made  prison- 
ers ;  and  the  enemy  lost  their  camp  equipage,  baggage, 
and  artillery.  Marshal  Tallard  was  taken  prisoner.  The 
allies  concluded  the  campaign,  with  the  capture  of  Lan- 
dau and  Trierbach. 

Sir  George  Rooke,  who  had  been  sent  with  a  squadron 
to  Barcelona,  made  a  sudden  and  successful  attack  on 
Gibraltar,  and  took  possession  of  that  important  fortress, 
which  has  ever  since  belonged  to  England. 

In  the  campaign  of  1705,  the  object  of  the  duke  of  Marl- 
borough was  to  penetrate  to  France  by  the  Moselle  ;  but 
his  operations  were  ill-seconded  by  prince  Louis  of  Ba- 
den, who  was  suspected  of  treachery,  or  who  was  actua- 
ted by  envy  of  the  duke's  military  reputation.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  French  invested  and  took  Huy,  and  besie- 
ged Liege ;  but  Marlborough,  returning  into  the  Nether- 
lands, retook  Huy,  and  obliged  the  French  to  abandon 
their  enterprise  against  Liege.  The  English  general,  in- 
flamed with  a  desire  of  achieving  some  action  of  impor- 
tance, attacked  the  enemy  in  their  lines,  defeated  the  Ba- 
varian cavalry  with  great  slaughter,  and  obliged  the  infant- 
ry also  to  give  way. 

Meanwhile,  an  English  fleet,  with  five  thousand  troops 
under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Peterborough  and  sir- 
Cloudesly  Shovel,  being  joined  by  a  Dutch  squadron  at 
Lisbon,  and  re-enforced  by  a  body  of  horse  from  the  earl 
of  Galway's  army  in  Portugal,  having  taken  the  archduke 
Charles  on  board,  directed  its  course  to  Catalonia.  The 
troops  were  disembarked  at  Barcelona,  and  Charles  land- 
ed amidst  the  acclamations  of  a  countless  multitude,  who 
threw  themselves  at  his  feet,  exclaiming,  "  Long  live  the 
king !"  Barcelona  was  compelled  to  capitulate  ;  and  the 
whole  province  of  Catalonia  declared  for  Charles,  who 
now  assumed  the  title  of  king  of  Spain,  and  took  up  his 
winter  quarters  in  the  heart  of  that  country. 

Villeroy  having  received  orders  to  act  on  the  offensive, 
passed  the  Doyle,  advanced  to  Tirlemont,  and  from  thenc* 


-    ANNE.  381 

to  Ramilies,  where  he  met  the  united  army  of  the 
allies.     Both  sides  prepared  for  battle.     The  duke  |1^ 
of  Marlborough  ordered  lieutenant-general  Schultz, 
with  twelve  battalions,   and  twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  to 
attack  the  village  of  Ramilies,  which  was  strongly  fortified 
with  artillery. 

The  main  body  of  the  enemy  were  speedily  driven  from 
the  field ;  and  the  confederates  obtained  a  complete  victo- 
ry. About  eight  thousand  French  and  Bavarians  were 
killed  or  wounded ;  and  the  allies  captured  the  enemy's 
baggage  and  artillery,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  co- 
lours or  standards,  six  hundred  officers,  and  six  thousand 
private  soldiers. 

The  entire  conquest  of  Brabant,  and  almost  all  Spanish 
Flanders,  was  the  immediate  result  of  the  battle  of  Rami- 
lies. Louvaine,  Mechlin,  Brussels,  Antwerp,  Ghent,  and 
Bruges,  submitted  without  resistance ;  Ostend  was  obliged 
to  capitulate ;  and  the  captures  of  Menin,  Dendermonde, 
and  Aeth,  speedily  followed. 

In  Spain,  the  French  were  also  unsuccessful :  and  king 
Philip  was  obliged  to  raise  the  seige  of  Barcelona.  The 
earl  of  Galway  advanced  into  Estremadura,  took  Alcan- 
tara, and  marched  to  Madrid,  which  the  English  and  Por- 
tuguese entered  without  resistance. 

In  Italy,  the  French  were  defeated  by  prince  Eugene 
at  Turin,  and  the  duke  of  Savoy  entered  his  capital  in  tri- 
umph. The  duke  of  Orleans  retreated  into  Dauphine ; 
while  the  French  garrisons  were  expelled  from  every  place 
they  occupied  in  Piedmont  und  Italy,  with  the  exception 
of  Cremona,  Valenza,  and  the  castle  of  Milan,  which  were 
blockaded  by  the  confederates. 

In  return  for  the  great  services  which  he  had  rendered 
his  country,  the  commons,  in  an  address,  besought  her  ma- 
jesty to  consider  the  means  by  which  the  memory  of  the 
duke  of  Marlborough's  noble  actions  might  be  perpetuated. 
The  queen  informed  them  by  a  message,  that  she  intended 
to  grant  to  the  duke  and  his  heirs,  the  interest  of  the  crown 
in  the  honour  and  manor  of  Woodstock  and  the  hundred 
of  Wooten  ;  and  she  desired  the  assistance  of  the  house, 
in  clearing  from  incumbrance  the  lieutenancy  and  ranger- 
ship  of  the  park,  with  the  rents  and  profits  of  the  manor 
and  hundred,  which  had  already  been  alienated  for  two 
lives.    Accordingly,  a  bill  was  brought  in  and  passed,  en- 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

abling  the  queen  to  bestow  the  aforesaid  honour  and  ma- 
nor on  the  duke  of  Marlborough  and  his  heirs ;  and  her 
majesty  was  desired  to  advance  the  money  for  clearing  the 
incumbrances.  The  queen  not  only  complied  with  this 
address,  but  likewise  ordered  the  comptroller  of  her  works 
to  build  on  Woodstock-park,  the  magnificent  palace  or 
castle  of  Blenheim,  as  a  monument  of  the  signal  victory 
obtained  by  the  duke  of  Marlborough  near  the  village  of 
that  name. 

Previously  to  this,  the  queen,  with  the  concurrence  of 
parliament,  had  alienated  that  branch  of  the  revenue 
which  arose  from  the  first-fruits  and  tenths  paid  by  the 
clergy,  and  vested  it  in  trustees  for  the  augmentation  of 
small  livings.  At  the  same  time,  the  statute  of  mortmain 
was  repealed,  so  far  as  to  allow  all  persons  to  bestow  by 
will,  or  grant  by  deed,  what  they  should  think  fit  for  the 
increase  of  benefices. 

The  union  between  England  and  Scotland,  which  was 
effected  about  this  time,  was  an  event  more  glorious  and 
beneficial  than  the  most  splendid  success  of  the  British 
arms.     This  measure,  however,  imperiously  urged  by  wis- 
dom, was  violently  opposed  by  popular  prejudice  in  Scot- 
land; but,  at  length,  the  two  kingdoms  were  united  under 
one  legislature,    and  one    government ;   and'   the 
1707  union,  though  unpromising  in  its  origin,  has  been 
productive  of  happiness   and    prosperity  to  both 
kingdoms. 

In  the  meantime,  Louis,  whose  pride  had  been  greatly 
humbled  by  the  victories  of  the  duke  of  Marlborough,  and 
the  exertions  of  the  English,  offered  peace  on  the  follow- 
ing terms :  That  Milan,  Naples,  and  Sicily,  should  be  given 
to  the  archduke  ;  that  a  barrier  in  the  Netherlands  should 
be  allowed  to  the  Dutch ;  and  that  the  duke  of  Savoy  should 
be  indemnified  for  the  ravages  committed  in  his  dominions. 
In  return  for  these  concessions,  he  demanded  the  quiet 
possession  of  the  throne  of  Spain  and  the  Indies  to  his 
grandson,  Philip  V.,  and  the  restitution  of  Bavaria  to  its 
native  prince. 

These  offers,  however,  were  rejected ;  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  duke  of  Marlborough  was  at  this  time  so  high  in 
the  nation,  that  both  houses  of  parliament  renewed  their 
thanks  to  him,  passed  a  bill  to  perpetuate  his  titles  in  the 


ANNE.  383 

female  as  well  as  the  male  line,  and  readily  voted  supplies 
for  prosecuting  the  war. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  his  grace's  abilities  and  influ- 
ence, he  could  not  escape  the  envy  which  too  frequently 
attends  on  transcendant  talents  and  uninterrupted  success. 
Mrs.  Masham,  a  distant  relation  of  the  duchess  of  Marl- 
borough, who  had,  from  this  connexion,  obtained  the  of- 
fice of  woman  of  the  bed  chamber,  succeeded  to  that  as- 
cendancy over  the  mind  of  her  sovereign,  which  the  duchess 
had  long  maintained.  This  favourite  was  more  obliging 
than  her  benefactress,  who  had  frequently  opposed  the 
wishes  of  the  queen  ;  and  in  political  intrigues,  she  acted 
as  auxiliary  to  Mr.  Robert  Harley,  who  had  been  appointed 
secretary  of  state,  and  who  determined  to  destroy  the  cre- 
dit of  the  duke  of  Marlborough  and  the  earl  of  Godolphin. 
His  intention  was  to  unite  the  tories  under  his  own  aus- 
pices, and  expel  the  whigs  from  the  administration ;  and, 
in  this  scheme,  he  was  assisted  by  Henry  St.  John,  after- 
wards lord  Bolingbroke,  a  man  of  elegant  taste  and  an  as- 
piring mind,  whose  talents,  however,  were  rather  specious 
than  profound,  and  whose  principles  were  loose  and  un- 
settled. 

The  duke  of  Marlborough  and  the  earl  of  Godolphin, 
apprized  of  the  secret  intrigues  which  Mr.  Harley  carried 
on  with  Mrs.  Masham,  informed  the  queen  that  they  could 
serve  her  no  longer,  if  that  minister  were  continued  in  his 
office  of  secretary.  The  queen  endeavoured  to,  appease 
their  resentment,  but  in  vain  ;  and  she  was  obliged  to  re- 
move Mr.  Harley  from  his  office ;  but  her  majesty  was  in- 
dignant at  the  conduct  of  the  duke  and  the  earl  of  Godol- 
phin, from  whom  she  withdrew  her  confidence. 

At  this  period,  the  nation  was  alarmed  with  a  threatened 
invasion  from  France,  in  favour  of  the  pretender,  or  the 
chevalier  St.  George,  as  he  was  called.  The  queen  com- 
municated to  the  commons  the  advice  which  she  had  re- 
ceived of  the  destination  of  the  French  armament ;  and 
both  houses  immediately  joined  in  a  loyal  and  affectionate 
address  on  this  occasion ;  the  habeas  corpus  act  was  sus- 
pended ;  the  pretender  and  his  adherents  were  proclaimed 
traitors  and  rebels  ;  and  a  bill  was  passed,  discharging  the 
.clans  of  Scotland,  where  it  was  expected  the  chevalier 
would  land,  from  all  vassalage  to  those  chiefs  who  should 
arm  against  her  majesty. 


384  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Preparations  for  this  expedition  were  made  at  Dunkirk, 
where  a  fleet  was  assembled  under  count  Fourbin,  and  a 
body  of  land  forces  embarked ;  and  this  armament,  after 
leaving  Dunkirk,  directed  its  course  for  Scotland.     Sir 
George  Byng,  who  had  received  advice  of  its  departure 
from  the  coast  of  France,  pursued  the  enemy  with  an  Eng- 
lish squadron  so  closely,  that  both  fleets  arrived  in  the 
Frith  of  Forth  almost  at  the  same  time  ;  when  the  French 
commander,  despairing  of  success,  and  unwilling  to  try  the ! 
issue  of  a  battle,  took  advantage  of  a  land-breeze,  and] 
sailed  away.     The  pretender  desired  to  be  set  on  shore! 
at  Inverness ;  but  this  being  found  impracticable,  the  che- 
valier and  his  general  returned  to  Dunkirk. 

The  duke  of  Marlborough,  with  his  usual  success,  de-| 
feated  the  French  near  Oudenarde.     In  this  battle, 
jl^Q  the  French  had  about  three  thousand  men  killed] 
in  the  field,  and  seven  thousand  taken  prisoners.! 
After  obtaining  this  victory,  the  allies  invested  Lisle,  the 
strongest  place  in  Flanders,  and  the  bulwark  of  the  French] 
barrier.     Prince  Eugene  commanded,  and  the  duke  of? 
Marlborough  covered  and  sustained  the  siege.     The  gar- 
rison was  numerous,  and  was  commanded  by  a  marshal  of 
France ;  but  nothing  could  resist  bravery  and  skill  united. 
The  enemy  assembled  all  their  forces,  and  marched  to  the 
relief  of  the  place,  but  were  only  spectators  to  its  fall. 
The  duke  obliged  the  elector  of  Bavaria  to  raise  the  siege' 
of  Brussels ;  and  re-took  Ghent  and  Bruges,  which  had 
been  lost  by  treachery. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  October  of  this  year,  died 
George,  prince  of  Denmark,  a  personage  who  possessed 
all  the  amiable  qualities  of  his  consort,  but  who  was  devoid 
of  great  talents  and  ambition.  At  his  death,  the  earl  of 
Pembroke  was  created  lord  high-admiral,  the  earl  ot 
"Wharton  was  promoted  to  the  government  of  Ireland,  and 
lord  Somers  appointed  president  of  the  council.  Notwith- 
standing the  advancement  of  these  whig  noblemen,  the 
duke  of  Marlborough  continued  to  decline  in  his  credit 
with  the  queen,  who  privately  consulted,  and  placed  her 
chief  confidence  in  Mr.  Harley,  though  the  latter  held  no 
ostensible  situation  in  the  administration. 

Meanwhile,  the  duke  of  Savoy,  by  making  himself  mas- 
ter of  the  important  fortresses  of  Exilles,  La  Perouse,  the 
valley  of  St.  Martin,  and  Fenestrells,  had  not  only  secured 


ANNE.  385 

a  barrier  to  his  own  frontiers,  but  opened  a  way  into  the 
French  provinces  on  the  side  of  Dauphine ;  while  the  pos- 
session of  Lisle  exposed  that  monarchy  on  the  side  of  the 
Netherlands. 

Dufing  this  campaign,  major-general  Stanhope,  with 
three  thousand  men,  having  landed  on  the  island  of  Mi- 
norca, took  fort  St.  Philip  in  three  days  ;  and  the  garrison 
of  fort  Fornelles  having  surrendered  themselves  prisoners 
to  admiral  sir  John  Leake,  the  whole  island  submitted  to 
the  English  government. 

By  this  time  the  pride  of  Louis  was  humbled,  and  he 
Once  more  made  proposals  of  peace  to  the  Dutch ;  but  the 
States  immediately  communicated  his  proposals  to  the 
courts  of  Vienna  and  London ;  and  the  emperor  appoint- 
ed prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  and  Great  Britain  the  duke  of 
Marlborough,  as  their  respective  plenipotentiaries.  The 
allies,  however,  rendered  insolent  by  conquest,  made  de- 
mands which  were  considered  extravagant  by  the  French 
monarch,  who,  gathering  resolution  from  despair,  publish- 
ed them  and  his  own  concessions ;  and  the  people,  ani- 
mated with  the  desire  of  defending  their  king  and  country, 
displayed  extraordinary  efforts  in  preparing  to  resist  the 
tremendous  power  of  the  enemy. 

The  allies,  on  their  side,  were  equally  active.  Marlbo- 
rough and  prince  Eugene  proceeded  to  Flanders  ;  and  the 
allied  army  assembled  on  the  plain  of  Lisle,  to  the  number 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  men.  Tourney  soon 
fell,  and  the  siege  of  Moiis  was  formed.  The  French  ar- 
my, amounting  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  were  posted  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Malpla-  Vynq 
quet.  In  the  night  of  the  tenth  of  September,  the 
two  armies  arrayed  themselves  in  order  of  battle ;  and, 
about  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning,  one  of  the  most  fu- 
rious contests  that  had  taken  place  in  this  war  commenced. 
The  battle  was  maintained  with  the  most  determined  cou- 
rage on  both  sides.  The  French  fought  with  an  obstinacy 
bordering  on  despair,  till  seeing  their  lines  forced,  and 
their  general  dangerously  wounded,  they  retreated  in  good 
order,  and  took  post  between  Quesnoy  and  Valenciennes. 
The  field  of  battle  was  abandoned  to  the  confederates,  with 
about  forty  colours  and  standards,  sixteen  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, and  a  number  of  prisoners ;  but  it  was  the  dearest 
victory  the  allies  had  ever  purchased.  About  twenty  thou* 
33 


386  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

sand  of  their  best  troops  were  killed  in  the  engagement, 
while  the  enemy  did  not  lose  half  that  number.  The  bat- 
tle of  Malplaquet,  however,  was  followed  by  the  surrender 
of  Mons  ;  and  this  achievement  terminated  the  campaign. 
Some  attempts  at  negotiation  were  again  made  by  Louis ; 
but  in  proportion  to  his  concessions,  the  allies  rose  in  their 
demands. 

During  this  campaign,  the  military  operations  in  Spain 
and  Portugal  were  unfavourable  to  the  allies.  The  castle 
of  Alicant,  garrisoned  by  two  English  regiments,  had  been 
besieged  during  a  whole  winter.  At  length,  the  com- 
mander of  the  besieging  forces  ordered  the  rock  on  which 
the  castle  was  situated  to  be  undermined ;  and  colonel 
Syburgh,  the  governor,  was  informed,  that  it  was  intended 
to  spring  the  mine,  if  he  did  not  surrender  in  twenty-four 
hours.  Syburgh,  however,  refused  to  comply ;  and  the 
rock  being  split  by  the  explosion,  the  colonel  and  several 
officers  were  swallowed  up  in  the  opening,  which  imme- 
diately closed  upon  them  ;  but  notwithstanding  this  terri- 
ble accident,  the  garrison  persisted  in  its  defence,  till  the 
arrival  of  general  Stanhope,  who  procured  an  honourable 
capitulation. 

Henry  Sacheverell,  a  man  of  very  moderate  talents,  but 
of  a  busy  and  meddling  disposition,  in  a  sermon  preached 
at  St.  Paul*s,  on  the  fifth  day  of  November,  took  occasion 
to  inveigh  with  bitterness  against  the  ministry,  the  dissent- 
ers, and  the  low  church ;  he  defended  the  doctrine  of  non- 
resistance,  and  declaring  religion  to  be  in  danger,  exhorted 
the  people  to  stand  up  in  defence  of  the  church.  This  ser- 
mon being  printed,  was  speedily  dispersed  over  the  king- 
dom ;  and  Mr.  Dolben,  son  of  the  late  archbishop  of  York, 
complained  of  it  to  the  house  of  commons,  in  consequence 
of  which  Sacheverell  was  taken  into  custody  and  impeached. 
The  attention  of  the  whole  kingdom  was  fixed  on  this 
extraordinary  trial,  though  neither  the  man  nor  his  publi- 
cation deserved  any  other  than  silent  contempt.  The  trial 
continued  for  three  weeks  ;  and  a  vast  multitude  attended 
Sacheverell  every  day  to  and  from  Westminster-hall,  pray- 
ing for  his  deliverance  as  if  he  had  been  a  martyr.  The 
queen's  sedan  was  surrounded  by  the  populace,  who  ex- 
claimed, "  God  bless  your  majesty  and  the  church ;  we 
kope  your  majesty  is  for  Sacheverell."  They  abused  and 
insulted  all  who  would  not  join  in  the  cry  of  "  the  church 


ANNE.  387 

and  Sacheverell ;"  destroyed  several  meeting-houses,  and 
plundered  the  dwellings  of  eminent  dissenters. 

Sacheverell  was  found  guilty  by  a  majority  of  seventeen 
voices ;  he  was  prohibited  from  preaching  for  the  term  of 
three  years  ;  and  his  sermon  was  ordered  to  be  burnt  in  the 
presence  of  the  lord-mayor  and  the  sheriffs  of  London,  be- 
fore whom  it  had  been  delivered.  The  lenity  of  the  sen- 
tence, which  was  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  a  dread  of  the 
popular  fury,  was  celebrated  as  a  triumph  over  the  whigs. 

The  French  king,  sensible  that  the  misery  of  his  people 
,  daily  increased  by  the  continuance  of  the  war,  again 
made  overtures  for  peace;    but  finding  that  the  ml** A 
allies  would  not  listen  to  reasonable  or  honourable 
terms,  and  hoping  that  the  approaching  change  in  the 
English  ministry  might  be  productive  of  advantage  to  him, 
he  resolved  to  await  the    events  of  another   campaign. 
The  duke  of  Marlborough,  however,  still  continued  his 
successes.     He  took  Douay,  Bethune,  Venant,  and  Aire, 
which  opened  a  free  passage  into  the  heart  of  France. 
On  the  Rhine,  the  campaign  produced  no  military  event ; 
and  in  Spain,  both  parties  were  by  turns  conquerors  and 
conquered. 

In  England,  the  effects  of  those  intrigues  which  had 
been  formed  against  the  whig  ministers,  began  to  appear. 
The  trial  of  Sacheverell  had  excited  a  popular  spirit  of 
aversion  to  those  who  favoured  the  dissenters ;  and  the 
queen  expressed  her  attachment  to  the  tories,  by  mortify- 
ing the  duke  of  Marlborough,  whose  interest  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  dismission  of  his  own  son-in-law,  the 
earl  of  Sunderland,  from  the  office  of  secretary  of  state. 
Harley  became  sole  minister,  and  was  created  earl  of  Ox- 
ford and  Mortimer. 

The  new  ministry,  however,  had  not  yet  determined  to 
supersede  Marlborough  in  the  command  of  the  army.     In 
the  next  campaign,  prince  Eugene  acted  in  Germany,  and 
the  duke  of  Marlborough  was  again  opposed  by  marshal 
Villars,  who  had  assembled  a  numerous  army,  and 
which  he  encamped  in  a  strong  position  behind  tmm* 
the  river  Sanset.     Villars  boasted  that  the  French 
lines  were  impregnable ;  but  the  duke  of  Marlborough  en- 
tered these  lines  without  the  loss  of  a  single  soldier ;  and 
he  afterwards  reduced  the  strong  town  of  Bouchain  in  the 
very  sight  of  the  French  army,  which  was  superior  to  Ms 


388  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

own,  and  made  the  garrison,  consisting  of  six  thousand 
men,  prisoners  of  war. 

This  was  the  last  memorable  military  service  performed 
by  the  duke  of  Marlborough.  The  ministers  took  every 
method  which  envy  and  malice  could  suggest,  to  exaspe- 
rate the  nation  against  the  duke,  who  had  supported  so 
nobly  the  glory  of  England,  humbled  the  pride  and  check- 
ed the  ambition  of  France,  secured  the  liberty  of  Europe, 
and,  as  it  were,  chained  victory  to  his  chariot  wheels. 
Of  Marlborough  it  has  been  justly  observed,  that  he  never 
laid  siege  to  a  town  which  he  did  not  take,  or  fought  a 
battle  which  he  did  not  win.  His  understanding  was  as 
injurious  to  France  as  his  military  abilities ;  and  he  was 
equally  famous  m  the  cabinet  as  in  the  field. 

Such,  however,  is  the  violent  conduct  of  faction,  that 
this  consummate  general  and  statesman  was  ridiculed  in 
public  libels,  and  reviled  in  private  conversation.  He 
was  represented  as  guilty  of  fraud,  avarice,  and  extortion, 
and  traduced  as  the  meanest  of  mankind.  Even  his  cou- 
rage was  called  in  question  ;  and  he  was  accused  of  inso- 
lence, ambition,  and  misconduct.  When  his  enemies  had 
become  ministers,  the  same  parliament,  which  had  so  often 
before  voted  him  thanks  for  the  great  and  important  ser- 
vices he  had  performed,  now  determined,  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, that  some  of  his  practices  had  been  unwarrantable 
and  illegal ;  and  on  the  strength  of  these  resolutions,  ori- 
ginating solely  from  party  motives,  the  queen  dismissed 
him  from  all  his  employments,  and  the  command  was  gi- 
ven to  the  duke  of  Ormond. 

By  the  death  of  Joseph,  emperor  of  Germany,  his  bro- 
ther, the  archduke  Charles,  became  possessed  of  all  the 
hereditary  states  of  the  empire ;  and  soon  after  being 
elected  emperor,  the  object  of  the  war  was  certainly 
changed  ;  for  his  accession  to  the  thrones  of  both  Germa- 
ny and  Spain  would  have  effectually  destroyed  that  ba- 
lance of  power,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  so  much 
blood  had  been  spilt. 

A  congress  was  therefore  appointed  at  Utrecht;  and, 
after  negotiations  had  been  long  carried  on  at  that  place, 
peace  was  signed,  March  31,  1713,  by  all  the  belligerent 
powers,  except  the  emperor.  By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
Spain  and  the  Indies  were  confirmed  to  Philip ;  but  the 
Netherlands  and  the  Spanish  dominions  in  Italy  were  se- 


ANNE.  389 

parated  from  that  monarchy.  Naples,  Sardinia,  and  Mi- 
lan, were  bestowed  on  the  emperor ;  and  Sicily,  with  the 
title  of  king,  was  given  to  the  duke  of  Savoy.  The  Dutch 
had  a  barrier  assigned  them  against  France  in  the  Neth- 
erlands ;  while  all  that  Great  Britain  gained,  after  so  glo- 
rious a  war,  and  so  many  splendid  victories,  was  the  de- 
molition of  Dunkirk,  and  the  possession  of  Gibraltar  and 
Minorca. 

The  ambition  of  St.  John,  lord  viscount  Bolingbroke, 
would  not  allow  him  to  act  a  subordinate  part  under  Har- 
ley,  earl  of  Oxford ;  and  the  former  had  insinuated  him- 
self into  the  confidence  of  Mrs.  Masham,  whom  the  latter 
had  displeased.  By  means  of  that  lady,  Bolingbroke  was 
confirmed  in  the  good  opinion  of  the  queen,  while  Oxford 
in  proportion  lost  the  favour  of  his  sovereign.  The  queen, 
harassed  by  discordant  counsels,  and  perceiving  her  con- 
stitution giving  way,  was  supposed  by  some  to  form  real 
designs  of  securing  the  succession  to  her  brother;  and  it 
was  strongly  suspected,  that  Bolingbroke  was  attached  to 
the  same  interest,  and  encouraged  her  majesty  with  the 
most  flattering  hopes  of  success. 

After  the  peace  had  received  the  sanction  of  parliament, 
the  two  rivals,  unrestrained  by  the  tie  of  common  danger, 
gave  a  loose  to  their  mutual  animosity ;  and  a  very  acri- 
monious dialogue  passed,  on  the  27th  of  July,  between 
Mrs.  Masham,  Oxford,  and  Bolingbroke,  in  the  presence 
of  the  queen.  Soon  after,  Oxford  was  deprived  of  his 
badge  of  office ;  but  as  no  provision  had  been  made  for  sup- 
plying his  place,  confusion  and  disorder  ensued  at  court. 

The  fatigue  of  attending  a  long  cabinet-council  held  on 

this  occasion,  and  the  altercation  which  passed  between 

the  ministers  at  the  board,  so  agitated  and  affected  the 

queen's  spirits,  that  she  was  immediately  seized  with  an 

apoplectic  disorder,  which  baffled  all  the  power  of  medi- 

cine.     Her  majesty  continued  in  a  lethargic  insen- 

1714  sibility,  with  short  intervals,  till  her  death,  which 

took  place  on  the  first  day  of  August,  in  the  fiftieth 

year  of  her  age,  and  the  thirteenth  of  her  reign. 

Anne  was  of  the  middle  size,  and  well  proportioned; 
her  countenance  was  round,  her  features  regular,  her  com- 
plexion ruddy,  and  her  hair  a  dark  brown.  In  domestic 
life,  she  was  a  pattern  of  conjugal  affection,  and  a  tender 
mother.  She  wanted,  however,  the  vigour  of  mind  re-^ 
33* 


390  HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 

quisite  to  preserve  her  independence,  and  to  free  her  from 
the  snares  of  favourites ;  but  the  virtues  of  her  heart  were 
never  doubted;  and,  notwithstanding  the  party  feuds 
which  embittered  her  repose,  and  disturbed  her  reign,  she 
was  personally  beloved  by  her  people.  In  a  word,  though 
her  abilities  were  unequal  to  the  high  station  which  she 
filled,  and  her  attachment  to  favourites  was  injurious  to 
her  government  and  the  nation,  she  was  a  humane  and 
munificent  sovereign,  and  well  deserved  the  title,  which 
her  subjects  gave  her,  of  "  the  good  queen  Anne." 


CHAP.  XX. 

The  reign  of  George  I. 

If  providence  had  granted  a  longer  life  to  Anne,  and 
the  daring  and  ambitious  St.  John  had  continued  to  influ- 
ence her  councils,  there  seems  reason  to  suppose  that  at- 
tempts would  have  been  made  to  restore  the  hereditary 
line.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  friends  of  the  pretender  de- 
rived great  hopes  from  the  ministry  of  Bolingbroke ;  but 
the  sudden  death  of  the  queen,  by  destroying  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  Jacobites,  put  an  end  to  their  present  machi- 
nations, and  thus  removed  the  fears  and  apprehensions  of 
the  whigs. 

Agreeably  to  the  act  of  settlement  passed  in  the  reign 
of  William,  George  I.  elector  of  Hanover,  descend- 
ed by  his  mother   from  Elizabeth,    daughter  of  |«|  J 
James  I.,  was  proclaimed  king  in  due  form,  the 
very  day  of  the  queen's  death,  and  the  submission  of  the 
three  kingdoms  was  as  universal,  as  if  no  pretended  claim 
existed. 

At  the  time  of  his  ascending  the  throne  of  Great  Britain, 
George  was  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  In  about  six 
weeks,  he  landed  at  Greenwich,  where  he  was  received  by 
the  lords  of  the  regency ;  and  on  the  twentieth  day  of  Oc- 
tober following,  he  was  crowned  at  Westminster  with  the 
usual  solemnity. 

The  hopes  and  fears  of  both  the  whigs  and  tories  were 
great  at  this  time  ;  but  the  new  sovereign  had  been  prepos- 
sessed against  the  latter  ;  and  his  majesty  effected  an  in- 
stantaneous and  total  change  in  all  important  offices  under 
government.  The  duke  of  Ormond  was  dismissed  from 
X\\%  command,  which  the  king  restored  to  the  doke  of 


GEORGE  f.  391 

Marlborough,  with  several  new  appointments ;  the  earl  of 
Nottingham  was  declared  president  of  the  council ;  the 
great  seal  was  given  to  lord  Cowper ;  the  privy-seal  to  the 
earl  of  Wharton  ;  and  the  vice-royalty  of  Ireland  to  the 
earl  of  Sunderland.  Lord  Townshend  and  Mr.  Stanhope 
were  appointed  secretaries  of  state  ;  Mr.  Pulteney  secre- 
tary of  war ;  and  Mr.  Walpole,  who  had  undertaken  to 
manage  the  house  of  commons,  was  made  paymaster  to 
the  army.  The  post  of  secretary  for  Scotland  was  bestowed 
on  the  duke  of  Montrose ;  and  the  duke  of  Argyle  was  ap- 
pointed commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  in  that  country. 
Thus  the  whigs  obtained  an  ascendancy  both  in  and  out 
of  parliament. 

Meanwhile,  the  malcontents  in  England  were  consider- 
ably increased  by  the  king's  attachment  to  the  whigs  ;  and 
dangerous  tumults  were  raised  in  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  The  pretender  took  this  opportunity  to  trans- 
mit copies  of  a  printed  manifesto  to  various  noblemen  of 
the  first  distinction.  In  this  declaration,  he  mentioned  the 
good  intentions  of  his  sister  towards  him,  which  had  been 
prevented  by  her  death  ;  and  observed,  that  his  people  had 
proclaimed  for  their  king  a  foreign  prince,  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  hereditary  right,  which  no  act  could  abrogate. 

When  the  parliament  met,  the  earl  of  Oxford,  the  duke 
of  Ormond,  the  earl  of  Strafford,  and  lord  Bolingbroke, 
were  impeached,  on  account  of  the  parts  which  they  had 
acted  in  regard  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht.  Bolingbroke  fled 
to  the  continent,  and  was  followed  by  Ormond ;  but  though 
Oxford,  Prior,  and  some  others,  were  taken  into  custody, 
they  all  escaped  punishment.  Ormond  and  Bolingbroke, 
not  surrendering  themselves  within  the  time  appointed,  the 
house  of  lords  ordered  their  names  to  be  erased  from  the 
list  of  peers ;  and  inventories  were  taken  of  their  per- 
sonal estates.  It  is  impossible  to  reflect  on  the  ruin  of  the 
noble  family  of  Ormond,  in  the  person  of  a  brave  and  hu- 
mane nobleman,  whose  only  crime  was  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  his  sovereign,  without  feeling  the  greatest 
indignation  against  those  who  were  the  promoters  of  such 
iniquitous  proceedings. 

The  spirit  of  discontent  daily  increased  in  England ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  proclamations  against  riots,  se- 
veral tumults  were  raised  in  the  cities  of  London  and 
Westminster.     A  trifling  incident  served  to  augment  the 


392  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

public  ferment.  The  shirts  allowed  to  the  first  regiment 
of  guards,  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Marlborough,  were 
so  coarse,  that  the  soldiers  could  scarcely  be  persuaded  to 
wear  them.  Some  of  the  shirts  were  thrown  into  the  gar- 
den of  the  king's  palace,  and  into  that  which  belonged  to  the 
duke  of  Marlborough ;  and  a  detachment,  in  marching 
through  the  city,  produced  them  to  the  people,  exclaiming, 
"  These  are  the  Hanover  shirts." 

Tumults  were  raised  in  Staffordshire,  and  other  parts  of 
the  kingdom ;  and  the  house  of  commons  presented  an 
address  to  the  king,  desiring  that  the  laws  might  be  exe- 
cuted with  vigour  against  rioters.  They  also  passed  a  new 
act,  by  which  it  was  decreed,  that  if  any  persons,  to  the 
number  of  twelve,  unlawfully  assembled,  should  continue 
together  one  hour  after  having  been  required  to  disperse 
by  a  justice  of  peace  or  other  officer,  and  had  heard  the 
proclamation  against  riots  read  in  public,  they  should  be 
deemed  guilty  of  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy. 

The  king  having  informed  both  houses  that  a  rebellion 
had  actually  commenced,  and  that  the  nation  was  threat- 
ened with  a  foreign  invasion,  the  parliament  immediately 
passed  a  law,  empowering  his  majesty  to  secure  suspected 
persons,  and  to  suspend  the  habeas  corpus  act.  About  this 
period,  the  royal  assent  was  given  to  an  act  for  encoura- 
ging loyalty  in  Scotland.  By  this  law,  the  tenant  who 
continued  peaceable,  while  his  lord  took  up  arms  in  favour 
of  the  pretender,  was  invested  with  the  propriety  of  the 
lands  he  rented;  on  the  other  hand,  it  decreed  that  the 
lands  possessed  by  any  person  guilty  of  high-treason 
should  revert  to  the  superior  of  whom  they  were  held  ;  and 
a  clause  was  added  for  summoning  all  suspected  persons 
to  find  bail  for  their  good  behaviour.  By  virtue  of  this 
clause,  all  the  heads  of  the  Jacobite  clans,  and  other  sus- 
pected persons,  were  summoned  to  Edinburgh,  and  those 
who  neglected  to  appear  were  declared  rebels. 

The  disaffected,  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  held 
private  consultations  with  the  Jacobites ;  and  the  cheva- 
lier St.  George  was  assured,  that  the  whole  nation  was  dis- 
satisfied with  the  new  government.  Resolving  to  take 
advantage  of  this  favourable  disposition,  the  chevalier  ap- 
plied to  the  French  king,  who  supplied  him  with  the 
means  of  fitting  out  a  small  armament  in  the  port  of  Havre ; 
but  the  death  of  Louis,  which  happened  at  this  time,  was 


GEORGE  I.  393 

highly  detrimental  to  his  interests ;  and  the  duke  of  Or- 
leans, on  whom  the  regency  of  the  kingdom  devolved, 
adopted  a  new  system  of  politics,  and  entered  into  the 
strictest  alliance  with  the  king  of  Great  Britain. 

The  partisans  of  the  pretender,  however,  had  gone  to© 
far  to  recede.     The  earl  of  Mar,  assembling  three  hun- 
dred of  his  vassals,  proclaimed  the  chevalier   at 
Castletown,  and  on  the  sixth  of  September,  set  up  j^** 
his  standard  at  Brae- Mar.     Then  assuming  the  title 
of  lieutenant-general  of  the  pretender's  forces,  he  publish- 
ed a  declaration,  exhorting  the  people  to  arm  for  their 
lawful  sovereign ;  and  this  was  followed  by  a  manifesto, 
in  which  the  national  grievances  were  enumerated  and 
aggravated,  and  the  people  promised  redress. 

Meanwhile,  the  duke  of  Argyle  set  out  for  Scotland,  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  North  Britain ;  and 
the  earl  of  Sutherland  set  sail  for  that  country,  to  raise  his 
vassals  in  defence  of  his  liege  sovereign.  Other  heads  of 
clans  did  the  same;  and  it  was  soon  evident,  that  the 
voice  of  Scotland  was  far  from  being  general  in  favour  of 
the  pretender. 

In  the  north  of  England,  however,  the  earl  of  Derwent- 
water  and  Mr.  Foster  took  the  field  with  a  body  of  horse, 
and  being  joined  by  some  gentlemen  from  the  borders, 
proclaimed  the  chevalier  in  Warkworth,  Morpeth, ,  and 
Alnwick.  After  an  ineffectual  attempt  on  Newcastle, 
they  retired  northwards,  and  being  reinforced  by  a  body  of 
troops  under  lords  Kenmuir,  Carnwath,  and  Wintown, 
the  insurgents  advanced  to  Kelso,  where  they  were  joined 
by  Mackintosh,  who  had  crossed  the  Forth  with  a  body  of 
Highlanders. 

A  council  of  war  being  called,  the  rebels  determined  to 
re-enter  England  by  the  western  border.  At  Brampton, 
Foster  opened  his  commission  of  general,  and  proclaimed 
the  pretender.  They  continued  their  march  to  Penrith, 
where  the  sheriff,  assisted  by  lord  Lonsdale  and  the  bishop 
of  Carlisle,  had  assembled  the  posse  comitatus  of  Cumber- 
land, amounting  to  twelve  thousand  men,  who  fled  at  the 
approach  of  this  small  army.  From  Penrith,  the  insur- 
gents proceeded  by  the  way  of  Kendal  and  Lancaster  to 
Preston,  of  which  they  took  possession  without  opposition. 

General  Willis  marched  against  the  rebels,  with  six 
regiments  of  horse  and  one  battalion  of  foot,  and  had  ad- 


394  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

vanced  to  the  bridge  of  Ribble,  before  Foster  received  in- 
telligence of  their  approach.  At  first,  the  king's  troops 
met  with  a  warm  reception,  but  being  reinforced  next  day 
with  three  regiments  of  dragoons,  under  general  Carpen- 
ter, the  town  was  invested  on  all  sides.  The  rebels  now 
proposed  to  capitulate,  but  the  general  refusing  to  treat, 
they  surrendered  at  discretion.  The  noblemen  and  lead- 
ers were  secured,  and  sent  prisoners  to  London.  Some  of 
them  were  tried  by  the  martial-law  and  executed  ;  and  the 
common  men  were  imprisoned  at  Chester  and  Liverpool, 
till  the  pleasure  of  government  respecting  them  should  be 
known. 

The  very  day  on  which  the  rebels  surrendered  at  Preston, 
was  fought  the  battle  of  Dumblane,  between  the  duke  of 
Argyle  and  the  earl  of  Mar.  The  duke's  army  was  far 
inferior  in  point  of  numbers ;  but  he  obtained  the  advan- 
tage,  though  both  sides  claimed  the  victory. 

In  this  desperate  situation  of  his  affairs,  the  chevalier, 
embarking  in  a  small  vessel  at  Dunkirk,  landed  at  Perhead 
oh  the  twenty-second  of  December,  and  proceeded  to  Fet- 
terosse,  where,  being  joined  by  the  earls  of  Mar  and  Ma- 
rischal,  and  about  thirty  noblemen,  and  gentlemen  of  the 
first  quality,  he  was  proclaimed  king.  His  declaration, 
dated  at  Commercy,  was  printed  and  circulated  through 
all  the  adjacent  counties  ;  and  he  received  addresses  from 
the  episcopal  clergy,  and  the  laity  of  that  communion,  in 
Aberdeenshire.  On  the  fifth  of  January,  he  made  his  pub- 
lic entry  into  Dundee  ;  and,  on  the  seventh,  he  ar- 
jlj^  rived  at  Scone,  where  he  assumed  all  the  functions 
of  royalty,  and  fixed  his  coronation  for  the  twenty- 
third  of  the  same  month. 

This  dream  of  royalty,  however,  was  of  short  duration. 
In  a  council,  at  which  all  the  chiefs  of  his  party  assisted, 
it  was  determined  to  abandon  the  enterprise,  as  they  were 
destitute  of  money,  arms  and  ammunition,  and  as  they 
were  beginning  to  be  hemmed  in  by  the  king's  army. 
The  chevalier,  being  hotly  pursued  by  the  duke  of  Argyle, 
was  glad  to  embark  on  board  a  French  vessel  which  lay 
in  the  harbour  of  Montrose,  from  whence  he  sailed  to 
France,  accompanied  by  Mar,  Melfort,  Drummond,  Bulk- 
ley,  and  other  persons  of  distinction. 

The  rebellion  being  thus  suppressed,  the  commons  im- 
peached the  nobility  who  had  been  engaged  in  this  affair ; 


GEORGE    I.  395 

but  of  them  the  earl  of  Derwentwater  and  lord  Kenmuir 
alone  suffered  death ;  and  few  of  the  lower  ranks  were  exe- 
cuted in  comparison  with  the  number  found  guilty.  About 
one  thousand,  who  submitted  to  the  king's  mercy,  petition- 
ed for  transportation,  and  were  sent  to  America. 

The  ministry,  sensible  of  the  unpopularity  of  their  mea- 
sures, and  fearing  the  effects  of  a  new  parliament,  deter- 
mined to  repeal  the  triennial  act,  and  by  a  new  law 
to  extend  the  term  of  parliaments  to  seven  years.  iy*A 
Accordingly,  on  the  tenth  of  April,  the  duke  of 
Devonshire  brought  a  bill  into  the  house  of  lords  for  en- 
larging the  continuance  of  parliaments,  which  was  sup- 
ported by  all  the  whig  party ;  and  though  it  was  strenu- 
jusly  opposed  by  the  earls  of  Nottingham,  Abingdon,  and 
Paulet,  it  passed  by  a  great  majority ;  and,  in  the  lower 
house,  it  met  with  the  same  success. 

The  Spanish  king  having  taken  Sardinia,  and  invaded 
Sicily,  Great  Britain,  France,  Holland  and  the  emperor, 
formed  a  quadruple  alliance  against  his  catholic  majesty. 
Bremen,  and  Verdun,  which  had  been  purchased  with  the 
noney  of  England,  were  secured  to  Hanover,  contrary  to 
the  act  of  settlement  in  the  reign  of  king  William.     Admi- 
ral sir  George  Byng  sailed  with  twenty  ships  of  the  line, 
for  the  Mediterranean  ;    and,  on  the  eleventh  of 
August,  he  met,  off  cape  Passaro,  on  the  south-  1710 
east  point  of  Sicily,  with  the  Spanish  fleet  consist- 
ing of  twenty-seven  sail.      An  engagement  ensued,  in 
which  sir  George  took  or  destroyed  the  greatest  part  of  the 
hostile  armament. 

The  Spaniards  now  formed  a  scheme  in  favour  of  the 
pretender,  and  sent  a  squadron,  with  six  thousand  regular 
troops  and  twelve  thousand  stand  of  arms,  under  the  duke 
of  Ormond,  to  invade  Great  Britain.  The  Spanish  fleet, 
however,  was  dispersed  by  a  violent  storm,  which  defeated 
the  intended  expedition  ;  but  two  frigates  arrived  in  Scot- 
land, with  the  earls  Marischal  and  Seaforth,  the  marquis 
of  Tullibardine,  and  three  hundred  Spaniards.  These 
being  attacked  by  General  Wightman,  were  entirely  de- 
feated. Soon  after,  lord  Cobham  made  a  descent  on 
Spain,  and  took  Vigo;  and  his  catholic  majesty  acceded 
to  the  quadruple  alliance,  which,  indeed,  was  chiefly  in 
favour  of  the  emperor,  who  was  desirous  of  adding  Sicily 
to  his  other  Italian  dominions. 


396  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

On  the  royal  recommendation  to  the  commons  to  take 
the  national  debt  into  consideration,  a  scheme  "was 
ijiq  formed,  called  the  South-Sea  act,  which  was  pro- 
ductive of  the  greatest  mischief  and  infatuation. 
The  scheme  was  projected  by  sir  John  Blount,  who  had 
been  bred  a  scrivener,  and  who  proposed  to  discharge  the 
national,  debt,  by  reducing  all  the  funds  into  one.     The 
bank  and  South-Sea  company  bade  against  each  other; 
and  the  terms  of  the  latter  were  so  advantageous,  that  go- 
vernment closed  with  them. 

While  the  matter  was  in  agitation,  the  stock  of  the  com- 
pany rose  from  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  nearly  four  hun- 
dred ;  and  though  the  Mississippi  scheme  of  Law  had  ruin- 
ed many  thousand  families  in  France,  in  the  pre- 
172fi  ce(Mng  year»  tne  people  of  England  were  so  infa- 
tuated, that  the  example  did  not  operate  as  a  warn- 
ing. Blount  imposed  on  the  whole  nation,  which  was 
seized  with  a  kind  of  delirium.  The  projector  and  his 
associates  pretended,  that  Gibraltar  and  Port  Mahon  would 
be  exchanged  for  some  places  in  Peru,  by  which  means 
the  English  trade  to  the  South-Sea  would  be  protected  and 
enlarged  ;  the  directors  opened  their  books  for  a  subscrip- 
tion of  one  million,  at  the  rate  of  three  hundred  pounds 
for  one  hundred,  capital  stock ;  and  such  was  the  eager- 
ness of  the  multitude  to  subscribe,  that  in  five  days  two 
millions  were  entered  in  the  books,  and  stocks  advanced 
to  double  the  price  of  the  first  payment. 

By  a  promise  of  high  dividends  and  other  artifices,  the 
South-Sea  stock  was  raised  to  one  thousand.  Exchange- 
alley  was  daily  filled  with  an  infatuated  crowd  of  all 
ranks ;  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  the  stock  fell  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty ;  and  the  ebb  of  this  tide  of  hope 
was  so  violent,  as  to  overwhelm  in  ruin  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  families.  Public  credit  sustained  a  terrible  shock. 
The  principal  actors  in  this  nefarious  undertaking  were 
punished  by  parliament,  and  measures  were  adopted  for 
giving  some  redress  to  the  injured  parties. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  it  was  reported,  that  the  king 

had  received  from  the  duke  of  Orleans  information  of  a 

conspiracy  against  his  person  and  government.    In 

1722  conse0iuence>  a  camp  was  immediately  formed  in 

Hyde  park ;  all  military  officers  were  ordered  to 

repair  to  their  respective  posts;    troops  were  sent  from 


I 


GEORGE   I.  397 

Ireland ;  the  states  of  Holland  were  desired  to  have  their 
auxiliary  forces  ready  to  be  embarked ;  and  some  suspect- 
ed persons  were  apprehended  in  Scotland. 

Among  the  individuals  supposed  to  be  implicated  in  this 
treasonable  conspiracy,  were  Atterbury,  bishop  of  Roches- 
ter ;  the  earl  of  Orrery ;  the  lords  North  and  Grey ;  Coch- 
rane and  Smith,  from  Scotland;  Christopher  Layer,  a 
young  gentleman  of  the  Temple ;  George  Kelley,  an  Irish 
clergyman ;  Cotton,  Bingley,  and  Fleetwood,  Englishmen ; 
and  one  Naynoe,  an  Irish  priest.  All  these  were  taken 
into  custody,  and  committed  to  different  prisons. 

On  the  meeting  of  the  new  parliament,  his  majesty  in- 
formed them  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  plot,  which, 
he  said,  if  it  had  not  been  timely  discovered,  would  have 
involved  the  whole  nation,  and  particularly  the  city  of 
London,  in  blood  and  confusion.  The  parliament  sus- 
pended the  habeas  corpus  act  for  a  year;  but  the  opposi- 
tion in  the  house  of  commons  was  so  violent,  that  Mr.  Ro- 
bert Walpole,  the  prime  minister,  endeavoured  to  rouse 
their  apprehensions  by  informing  them  of  a  design  to  seize 
the  bank  and  exchequer,  and  to  proclaim  the  pretender 
on  the  Royal  Exchange.  To  corroborate  the  whole,  an 
original  and  printed  copy  of  a  declaration,  signed  by  the 
pretender  at  Lucca,  was  laid  before  the  house.  In  this 
curious  paper,  the  chevalier  expatiated  on  the  grievances 
of  England,  and  very  gravely  proposed,  that  if  king  George 
would  relinquish  the  throne  of  Great  Britain,  he  would,  in 
return,  bestow  on  him  the  title  of  king  in  his  native  domi- 
nions, and  secure  to  him  the  succession  to  the  British 
sceptre,  whenever,  in  due  course,  his  natural  right  should 
take  place.  . 

The  commons  prepared  a  bill  for  raising  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds  on  the  real  and  personal  estates  of  pa- 
pists, towards  defraying  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  late 
rebellion  -and  disorders ;  and  all  persons  of  that  faith  in 
Scotland  were  called  upon  to  register  their  names  and 
real  estates. 

These  acts  were  followed  by  the  trial,  conviction,  and 
execution  of  Layer.  Against  the  lords  who  had  been  ar- 
rested, no  evidence  appeared,  or  at  least  was  produced ; 
but  Atterbury,  bishop  of  Rochester,  had  rendered  himself 
too  conspicuous  to  escape  punishment.  On  mere  conjec- 
ture and  hearsay  evidence,  a  bill  of  pains  and  penalties 
34 


398  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

passed  the  lower  house  against  him,  and  was  sent  up  to 
the  lords,  when  the  trial  commenced.  Nothing  could  be 
proved  against  him,  except  the  uncertain  evidence  of  the 
clerks  of  the  post-office  ;  yet  the  bishop  was  deprived  of 
all  offices,  benefices,  and  dignities,  and  rendered  incapa- 
ble of  enjoying  any  for  the  future  ;  he  was  also  banished 
the  realm,  and  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  death  in  case 
he  should  return  ;  and  all  persons  who  should  correspond 
with  him  in  his  exile,  were  declared  guilty  of  a  capital 
offence. 

The  remainder  of  the  reign  of  George  the  First  presents 
little  to  excite  attention.  Intricate  and  contradictory  trea- 
ties, most  of  which  were  inimical  to  the  interests  of  this 
country,  form  the  principal  subjects  of  this  portion  of 
English  history. 

The  king  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  paralytic  disorder, 

on  the  road  from  Holland  to  Hanover,  and  was  conveyed 

in  a  state  of  insensibility  to  Osnaburgh,  where  he 

1 707  expired  on  Sunday,  the  11th  day  of  June,  in  the 

sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirteenth  of 

his  reign. 

George  I.  was  plain  in  his  person,  and  simple  in  his  ad- 
dress. His  deportment  was  grave  and  composed,  though 
he  could  be  easy  and  familiar  in  the  hours  of  relaxation. 
Before  he  ascended  the  throne  of  Great  Britain,  he  was 
considered  an  able  and  experienced  general,  a  just  and 
merciful  prince,  and  a  consummate  politician.  With  these 
qualities,  his  disposition  to  govern  England,  according  to 
the  regulations  of  the  British  constitution,  cannot  be  dis- 
puted ;  and  if  ever  he  appeared  to  deviate  from  these  prin- 
ciples, we  readily  allow,  that  the  blame  does  not  attach  to 
him,  but  to  his  ministers,  by  whose  venal  suggestions  he 
was  misled. 

George  I.  married  the  princess  Sophia  Dorothy,  daugh- 
ter of  the  duke  of  Zell,  from  whom  he  separated  before 
he  came  to  England. 


CHAP.  XXI. 

The  reign  of  George  II. 

On  the  14th  day  of  June,  an  account  was  received  of 

the  late  king's  death,  when  the  prince  of  Wales  repaired 


GEORGE   II.  399 

from  Richmond  to  Leicester-house,  where  a  privy- 
council  was  held,  and  next  day,  George  II.  was  %'^Sy 
proclaimed  king  with  the  usual  solemnities.     His 
majesty  declared  his  firm  purpose  to  preserve  the  consti- 
tution in  church  and  state,  and  to  adhere  to  those  allian- 
ces into  which  his  father  had  entered.     At  the  same  time, 
he  took  and  subscribed  the  oath  for  the  security  of  the 
church  of  Scotland,  as  required  by  the  act  of  union ;  and 
he  continued  all  the  great  officers  of  state  in  their  places. 

In  his  speech  to  both  houses,  on  the  opening  of  the  par- 
liament, the  king  professed  a  fixed  resolution  to  mqrit  the 
love  and  affection  of  his  people,  by  maintaining  them  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  their  religious  and  civil  rights,  and 
by  studying  to  lessen  the  expenses  of  government  on  eve- 
ry occasion.  * 

Sir  Robert  Walpole  followed  these  gracious  assurances, 
by  moving  that  the  entire  revenue  of  the  civil-list,  which 
produced  about  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  an- 
num, should  be  settled  on  the  king  during  life ;  and  though 
Mr.  Shippen  and  other  patriots  opposed  any  increase  of 
the  royal  revenue,  as  inconsistent  with  the  trust  reposed 
in  them,  the  motion  was  carried  by  a  great  majority  ;  and 
a  liberal  provision  was  made  for  the  queen,  in  case  she 
should  survive  his  majesty.  In  short,  the  two  houses  of 
parliament  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  expressing 
their  attachment  to  the  new  king  :  and,  for  a  time,  all  par- 
ties appeared  to  be  united  in  affection  to  his  person,  and  in 
submission  to  the  proposals  of  his  ministers. 

Sir  Robert  Walpole,  though  he  disclaimed  any  intention 
of  promoting  a  general  excise,  expatiated  on  the  benefits 
which  would  accrue  to  the  nation  by  a  partial  measure  of 
that  nature,  and  prevent  numberless  frauds  on  the  public 
and  the  fair  trader.     The  speech  of  the  minister  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  motion  that  a  partial  excise  on  tobacco  should 
be  levied.     This  measure  met  with  a  violent  opposition,  as 
well  from  the  consideration  of  the  train  of  depen- 
dants it  would  produce,  as  from  the  dread  of  its  ex-  -ijov 
tension  to  other  articles  ;  and  the  ferment  became 
so  great  throughout  the  nation,  that  though  the  minister 
had  a  triumphant  majority  of  sixty-one  in  the  house  of 
commons,  he  was  obliged  to  waive  the  advantage,  and 
abandon  the  scheme. 

Ever  since  the  treaty  of  Seville,  in  1729,  the  Spaniards 


400  HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

in  America  had  almost  incessantly  insulted  arid  distressed 
the  commerce  of  Great  Britain.  They  disputed  the  right 
of  the  English  to  cut  logwood  in  the  bay  of  Campeachy,  \ 
and  gather  salt  on  the  island  of  Tortugas,  though  that  right 
was  acknowledged  in  all  the  treaties  concluded  between 
the  two  nations.  The  captains  of  their  armed  vessels,  call- 
ed guarda-costas,  made  a  practice  of  boarding  and  plun- 
dering English  ships,  on  the  pretence  of  searching  for  con- 
traband goods  ;  and  various  other  acts  of  cruelty  and  injus- 
tice were  committed.  In  particular,  one  Captain  Jenkins, 
master  of  a  Scottish  merchant  ship,  was  boarded  by  the 
commander  of  a  Spanish  guarda-costa,  who  insulted 
Jenkins  with  the  most  opprobrious  invectives,  and  tore  off 
one  of  his  ears,  which  he  bade  him  carry  to  the  king,  and 
tell  him  that  the  Spaniards  would  serve  him  in  the  same 
manner,  if  an  opportunity  should  present  itself. 

These  outrages  were  loudly  and  justly  complained  of.  j 
Petitions  from  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  were  present- 
ed to  the  lower  house  ;  and  the  relief  of  parliament  was 
earnestly  implored  against  these  acts  of  violence.  Sir  John 
Barnard  moved,  that  all  the  memorials  and  papers  relative 
to  the  Spanish  depredations  should  be  laid  before  the  com- 
mons ;  and  though  sir  Robert  Walpole  proposed  some  al-  S 
teration,  he  was  obliged  to  comply. 

The  minister,  however,  was  either  fond  of  peace,  or 
afraid  that  war  would  injure  his  administration.      Every 
endeavour,  therefore,  to  prevent  a  rupture  with  Spain  was 
industriously  employed ;  and,  at  Jast,  a  convention   was 
concluded  and  ratified,  by  which  the  king  of  Spain 
..loo  bound  himself  to  pay,  within  a  limited  time,  the 
sum  of  ninety-five  thousand  pounds,  to  be  employ- 
ed in  discharging  the  demands  of  British  subjects  on  the 
crown  of  Spain.     This  measure,  however,  excited  great 
indignation:  and  Mr.  William  Pitt,  who  afterwards  ren- 
dered himself  so  illustrious  by  his  eloquence,  his  virtues, 
and  his  talents,  declaimed  against  the  convention,  as  inse- 
cure, unsatisfactory,  and  dishonourable  to  Great  Britain. 

The  Spaniards  not  fulfilling  the  agreement  into  which 
thev  had  entered,  letters  of  marque   and  reprisal  were 
granted  against  Spain ;    a  large  fleet  was  assembled  at 
Spithead ;  the  land  forces  were  augmented ;  and 
-  log  an  embargo  was  laid  on  all  merchant  vessels.     Af- 
ter another  fruitless  attempt  to  negotiate,  war  was 
at  last  formally  declared. 


GEORGE  II.  401 

Admiral  Vernon  having  affirmed,  in  the  house  of  com- 
mons, that  he  could  take  Porto  Bello,  on  the  Spanish 
Main,  with  six  ships,  was  despatched  thither,  and  actually 
performed  this  hazardous  service,  almost  without  opposi- 
tion. On  the  arrival  of  this  news,  the  two  houses  of  par- 
liament joined  in  an  address  of  congratulation  on  the  suc- 
cess of  his  majesty's  arms ;  and  the  commons  granted  all 
the  necessary  supplies  for  carrying  on  the  war. 

The  minister,  however,  was  become  extremely  unpopu- 
lar. War  was  not  the  sphere  of  sir  Robert  Walpole. 
Expensive  expeditions  were  projected,  without  producing 
any  corresponding  effect ;  and  the  enemy  was  unmolest- 
ed in  proceeding  from  one  port  to  another.  In  conse- 
quence, the  minister  was  attacked  in  the  house  of  com- 
mons with  much  asperity ;  and  though  he  contrived  to  re- 
tain his  situation,  it  was  evident  that  his  administration 
was  verging  towards  a  close. 

Charles  VI.  emperor  of  Germany,  and  the  last  male 
sovereign  of  the  house  of  Austria,  died  at  Vienna,  and  was 
succeeded  in  his  hereditary  dominions  by  his  eldest  daugh- 
ter, the  archduchess  Maria  Theresa,  married  to 
1740  tne  &ran(*  duke  of  Tuscany  ;  but,  though  this  prin- 
cess became  queen  of  Hungary,  by  virtue  of  the 
pragmatic  sanction,  the  restless  ambition  of  her  neigh- 
bours would  not  suffer  her  to  enjoy  those  possessions 
which  had  been  guarantied  by  all  the  powers  of  Europe. 
Frederick,  the  young  and  aspiring  king  of  Prussia,  was 
no  sooner  informed  of  the  emperor's  death,  than  he  laid 
claim  to  Silesia,  which  he  entered  at  the  head  of  twenty 
thousand  men.  At  the  same  time,  the  elector  of  Bavaria 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  archduchess  as  queen  of  Hun- 
gary and  Bohemia,  alleging,  that  he  himself  had  legiti- 
mate pretensions  to  these  dominions.  Thus  a  war  was 
kindled  in  Germany ;  and  the  archduchess  made  requisi- 
tion of  twelve  thousand  men,  stipulated  by  treaty  to  be  fur- 
nishqil  her  by  England. 

In  the  present  posture  of  affairs,  men  could  be  less  con- 
veniently spared  than  money;  and  sir  Robert  Walpole 
moved,  that  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  should  be 
granted  in  aid  to  the  queen  of  Hungary.  The  motion  pass- 
ed, though  not  without  opposition ;  and  the  house  resol- 
ved, that  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  should  be  granted 
to  his  majesty  to  enable  him  to  assist  the  archdmchesf. 
34* 


402  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

An  attempt  was  made  on  Carthagena  by  sir  Chaloner 
Ogle,  and  admiral  Vernon  ;  but  it  failed  of  success,  and 
was  attended  with  the  loss  of  many  men,  the  greatest  part 
of  whom  were  martyrs  to  the  season  and  the  climate.  An- 
other unsuccessful  expedition  to  Cuba  finished  the  losses 
and  the  disgraces  of  this  campaign.  The  nation  com- 
plained loudly  of  these  miscarriages  ;  and  the  general  dis- 
content had  a  great  effect  on  the  election  of  members  for 
the  new  parliament.  Notwithstanding  all  the  ministerial 
influences,  the  party  of  opposition  evidently  prevailed. 
The  adherents  of  the  minister  began  to  tremble  ;  and  sir 
Robert  Walpole  knew,  that  the  majority  of  a  single  vote 
would  commit  him  prisoner  to  the  Tower.  After  endea- 
vouring in  vain  to  bring  over  the  prince  of  Wales  to 
his  party,  he  prudently  meditated  a  retreat ;  and  |l  ?" 
the  king  having  adjourned  both  houses  of  parlia- 
ment, in  the  mean  time  sir  Robert  Walpole  was  created 
earl  of  Oxford,  and  resigned  all  his  employments,  after 
being  a  minister  for  twenty  years. 

The  change  in  the  ministry  was  celebrated  with  public 
rejoicings;  yet,  if  the  character  of  Walpole  be  candidly 
appreciated,  we  shall  find  less  to  censure  than  to  praise. 
That  he  carried  his  measures  by  venal  influence  must  be 
allowed,  and  this  is  the  greatest  stain  that  attaches  to  his 
character  ;  but  those  who  suffered  themselves  to  be  cor- 
rupted were  at  least  equally  blameable.  When,  however, 
we  contemplate  his  aversion  to  war,  and  his  disinterested 
conduct,  when  so  much  was  at  his  disposal,  we  cannot  de- 
ny him  the  tribute  of  our  applause. 

In  the  new  administration,  the  duke  of  Newcastle  and 
Mr.  Pelham  retained  their  former  situations.    Mr. 
Sandys  succeeded  sir  Robert  Walpole  as  chancel-  ~L f~ 
lor  of  the  exchequer ;  and  the  earl  of  Wilmington 
was  appointed  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  in  the  room  of  the 
ex-minister.     Lord  Carteret  became  secretary  of  state  for 
the   foreign  department ;  and  Mr.   Pulteney,  who  refused 
any  official  situation,  was  sworn  of  the  privy-council,  and 
soon  after  created  earl  of  Bath. 

It  soon  however  appeared,  that  those  who  had  declaim- 
ed the  loudest  for  the  liberties  of  their  country,  had  been 
actuated  solely  by  sordid  or  ridiculous  motives.  The  peo- 
ple complained,  that,  instead  of  a  change  of  men  and 
measures,  the  old  ministry  was  strengthened  by  this  coali- 


GEORGE   II.  403 

tion ;  and  they  branded  the  new  converts  as  apostates  and 
betrayers  of  their  country. 

The  parliament  voted  one  hundred  thousand  seamen 
and  landsmen  for  the  service  of  the  year ;  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds  to  the  queen  of  Hungary  ;  and  they  pro- 
vided for  the  subsidies  to  Denmark  and  Hesse  Cassel. 
As  the  king  had  determined  to  make  a  powerful  diversion 
in  the  Netherlands,  sixteen  thousand  men  were  embarked 
for  the  continent,  under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Stair; 
and  several  thousand  of  Hanoverians,  Hessians,  and  Aus- 
trians,  were  taken  into  British  pay. 

The  troops  which  the  king  of  Great  Britain  had  assem- 
bled in  the  Netherlands,  marched  for  the  Rhine,  and  en- 
camped at  Hoech,  on  the  river  Maine.  The  duke  of  Cum- 
berland had  already  come  to  make  his  first  campaign,  and 
his  majesty  arrived  in  the  camp  on  the  9th  of  June.  The 
king  found  his  army,  amounting  to  about  forty  thousand 
men,  in  a  critical  situation ;  and  receiving  intelligence  that 
a  reinforcement  of  twelve  thousand  Hanoverians  and  Hes- 
sians had  reached  Hanau,  he  resolved  to  march  to  that 
place,  as  well  with  a  view  to  effect  a  junction,  as  to  procure 
provisions  for  his  forces.  Soon  after  he,  had  begun  his 
march,  he  perceived  the  French  drawn  up  in  order  of  bat- 
tle at  the  village  of  Dettingen  ;  and  he  now  found  himself 
enclosed  on  all  sides  by  the  enemy,  insomuch  that 
a  retreat  was  impossible.  Thus  environed,  the  *~*^ 
confederates  must  either  have  fought  at  a  great  dis- 
advantage, or  been  obliged  to  surrender,  if  the  duke  de 
Grammont  had  not  rashly  descended  into  the  plain.  The 
French  charged  with  impetuosity,  and  the  allies  received 
the  shock  with  great  intrepidity  and  deliberation.  The 
king  himself  displayed  much  personal  courage ;  and  the 
duke  of  Cumberland  was  wounded.  The  French  were  at 
last  repulsed,  and  obliged  to  cross  the  Maine,  with  the  loss 
of  five  thousand  men. 

The  French,  who  had  now  become  principals  in  the  war, 
projected  an  invasion  of  Great  Britain,  and  made  prepara- 
tions for  that  purpose  at  Boulogne  and  Dunkirk,  under  the 
inspection  of  the  young  pretender ;  but  sir  John  Norris 
appearing  with  a  fleet  superior  to  that  which  was 
to  convey  the  French  forces,  the  expedition  was  ^'7fl 
laid  aside  for  that  season.    However,  in  the  Nether- 
lands, the  enemy  had  considerable  success  under  marshal 


404  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

count  Saxe,  a  natural  son  of  Augustus,  king  of  Poland, 
by  the  countess  Koningsmark. 

In  the  next  campaign,  a  very  numerous  army  was  as- 
sembled under  marshal  Saxe :  and  the  French  king  and 
the  dauphin  arriving  in  the  camp,  the  strong  town 
^1  ?^  of  Tournay  was  invested.  The  duke  of  Cumber- 
land assumed  the  command  of  the  allied  army ;  and 
though  the  confederates  were  greatly  inferior  in  number 
to  the  enemy,  they  resolved  to  attempt  the  relief  of  Tour- 
nay.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  April,  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  French  army,  strongly  encamped  under  cover  of  the 
village  of  Fontenoy.  On  the  thirtieth  of  ApriJ,  they  at- 
tacked the  French  in  their  entrenchments  ;  and  though 
the  attempt  was  considered  rash  and  imprudent,  the  allied 
army  at  first  had  the  advantage  ;  but  the  destructive  fire  of 
the  enemy's  batteries,  to  which  they  were  exposed  both  in 
front  and  flank  at  last  obliged  them  to  retreat.  The  allies 
lost  about  twelve  thousand  men,  and  the  French  nearly 
the  same  number ;  but  the  consequences  of  this  furious 
battle  were  all  against  the  English  and  the  allies.  Tour- 
nay  was  compelled  to  surrender ;  Ghent  was  surprised  and 
taken ;  Ostend,  Dendermonde,  Oudenarde,  Newport,  and 
Aeth,  were  successively  reduced ;  while  the  allied  army 
lay  entrenched  behind  the  canal  of  Antwerp. 

The  pretender,  Charles,  son  of  the  chevalier  de  St. 
George,  fired  with  ambition  and  the  hope  of  ascending 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors,  resolved  to  risk  an  invasion  of 
Great  Britain.  Being  furnished  with  a  sum  of  money,  and 
a  supply  of  arms,  he  embarked  on  board  of  a  small  fri- 
gate, accompanied  by  the  marquis  of  Tullybardine  and  a 
few  Scottish  and  Irish  adventurers,  and  was  joined  by  the 
Elizabeth,  a  French  ship  of  war,  as  his  convoy.  Their 
design  was  to  sail  round  Ireland,  and  to  land  on  the  west- 
ern coast  of  Scotland;  but  being  met  by  the  Lion,  an 
English  ship  of  the  line,  an  engagement  ensued  between 
the  Lion  and  the  Elizabeth,  in  which  the  latter  was  so 
disabled,  that  she  was  obliged  to  return  to  Brest ;  and  the 
young  pretender  was  deprived  of  a  great  quantity  of  arms, 
and  the  assistance  of  about  one  hundred  officers,  who  had 
embarked  in  that  vessel  for  the  expedition.  Charles,  how- 
ever, in  the  frigate,  continued  his  course  to  the  western 
isles  of  Scotland,  and  on  the  27th  of  July,  landed  on  the 


George  II. 


George  III. 


GEORGE   II.  405 

coast  of  Lochaber,  where  he  was  soon  joined  by  twelve 
hundred  men,  under  their  respective  chiefs  or  leaders. 

The  administration  was  now  sufficiently  alarmed.  The 
king  was  at  this  time  in  Hanover.  The  lords  of  the  re- 
gency despatched  a  messenger  to  his  majesty  with  the 
news,  and  offered  a  reward  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  for 
the  apprehension  of  Charles.  Loyal  addresses  flocked  in 
from  all  parts.  The  principal  noblemen  tendered  their 
services  to  the  government ;  and  the  former  discontents 
seemed  to  be  forgotten  in  the  fears  of  the  present  moment. 

The  prince  advanced  to  Perth,  where  the  chevalier  de 
St.  George  was  proclaimed  king  of  Great  Britain ;  and, 
the  rebel  army  being  considerably  augmented,  Charles, 
on  the  16th  of  September,  took  possession  of  the  town  of 
Edinburgh.  Here  he  caused  his  father  again  to  be  pro- 
claimed, and  fixed  his  residence  in  the  royal  palace  of 
Holyrood-house. 

Sir  John  Cope,  commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  in 
North  Britain,  informed  of  these  transactions,  assembled 
all  the  troops  he  could  muster,  and,  on  the  20th  of  Sep- 
tember, encamped  at  Preston  Pans,  in  the  vicinity  of  Ed- 
inburgh. Next  morning  he  was  attacked  by  the  pre- 
tender, with  about  two  thousand  four  hundred  highlanders, 
who  charged  sword  in  hand  ;  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes, 
the  king's  troops  were  totally  routed,  with  the  loss  of  about 
five  hundred  men.  By  this  victory,  Charles  was  supplied 
with  a  train  of  field  artillery,  and  found  himself  possessed 
of  all  Scotland,  except  the  fortresses. 

The  pretender  continued  to  reside«in  the  palace  of  Ho- 
lyrood-house ;  but  after  being  joined  by  the  lords  Kilmar- 
nock, Elcho,  Balmerino,  and  many  other  persons  of  dis- 
tinction, and  receiving  considerable  supplies  from  France, 
he  resolved  to  make  an  irruption  into  England.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  6th  of  November,  he  entered  Carlisle,  whence 
he  advanced  to  Penrith,  and  continued  his  route  through 
Lancaster  and  Preston  to  Manchester,  where  he  was  join- 
ed by  about  two  hundred  English  Jacobites,  under  the 
command  of  colonel  Townley.  Crossing  the  Mersey  at 
Stockport,  Charles  passed  through  Macclesfield  and  Con- 
gleton  to  Derby ;  at  which  last  place  a  council  was  held, 
and  it  was  determined  to  return  into  Scotland.  The  re- 
treat was  effected  with  all  the  artillery  and  military  stores, 
in  spite  of  two  hostile  armies,  one  under  general  Wade, 


406  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  the  other  under  sir  John  Ligonier,  stationed  to  in- 
tercept the  rebels ;  but  the  most  remarkable  circumstance 
in  this  expedition  was  the  great  moderation  and  forbear- 
ance which  the  pretender's  army  exercised,  in  a  country 
abounding  with  plunder.  No  violence  or  outrage  was 
committed,  notwithstanding  the  extremities  to  which  they 
must  have  been  reduced.  . 

The  duke  of  Cumberland,  being  now  invested  with  the 
chief  command,  set  out  for  the  north,  and  overtook  the 
rear  of  the  rebels  at  the  village  of  Clifton,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Penrith,  where  a  skirmish  took  place.  Carlisle,  which 
the  pretender  garrisoned,  submitted  to  the  duke  in  a  few 
days.  Charles,  however,  after  levying  heavy  contribu- 
tions on  Glasgow,  which  had  displayed  its  attachment  to 
the  government,  proceeded  to  invest  the  castle  of  Stirling. 
General  Hawley,  commander  of  the  king's  forces  in  that 
quarter,  marched  to  Falkirk,  with  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing the  rebels  to  an  action.  The  latter,  however, 
,  1 .  A  began  the  attack  on  the  seventeenth  of  January  ; 
and  their  first  volley  threw  the  royal  forces  into  dis- 
order. The  rebels  following  up  their  blow,  the  royal  ar- 
my abandoned  Falkirk,  and  retired  in  confusion  to  Edin- 
burgh, leaving  part  of  the  tents  and  artillery  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy. 

The  duke  of  Cumberland  having  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  troops  in  Edinburgh,  advanced  to  Aberdeen,  the 
rebels  fleeing  all  the  way  before  him  ;  and  after  crossing 
the  deep  and  rapid  river  Spey  without  opposition,  he  was 
at  length  informed,  that  the  enemy  were  encamped  on  the 
plains  of  Culloden,  about  nine  miles  from  the  royal  army. 
On  the  16th  of  April,  the  duke  of  Cumberland  left  Nairn 
early  in  the  morning,  and,  after  a  march  of  nine  miles, 
perceived  the  enemy  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  to  the 
number  of  four  thousand  men.  The  royal  army,  which 
was  much  more  numerous,  was  immediately  formed  into 
three  lines. 

The  action  commenced  about  one  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. The  artillery  of  the  rebels  was  badly  served,  and 
did  little  execution  ;  but  that  of  the  king's  troops  made  a 
dreadful  havoc  among  the  enemy.  Impatient  of  this  fire, 
about  five  hundred  of  the  clans  charged  the  duke's  left 
wing  with  their  usual  impetuosity ;  and  one  regiment  was 
thrown  into  disorder  by  the  attack  of  this  body ;  but  two 


GEORGE  II.  407 

battalions  advancing  from  the  second  line,  supported  the 
first,  and  galled  the  enemy  by  a  close  and  terrible  dis- 
charge. At  the  same  time,  the  dragoons  under  Hawley, 
and  the  Argyleshire  militia,  pulling  down  a  park  wall, 
which  guarded  the  flank  of  the  rebels,  fell  upon  them,  and 
made  a  horrible  slaughter.  In  less  than  half  an  hour,  they 
were  totally  routed,  and  the  field  covered  with  the  slain. 

Thus,  in  one  short  hour,  all  the  hopes  and  ambition  of 
the  pretender  sunk  together,  and  instead  of  thrones  and 
sceptres,  he  saw  himself  a  miserable  outcast.  To  the 
eternal  disgrace  of  the  conquerors,  they  spread  terror 
wherever  they  came  ;  the  whole  surrounding  country  was 
one  sad  scene  of  slaughter,  desolation,  and  plunder ;  and, 
in  a  few  days,  there  was  neither  man  nor  house  to  be  seen 
within  the  circuit  of  fifty  miles !  The  unfortunate  Charles 
was  now  chased  by  armed  troops  from  hill  to  dale,  from 
rock  to  cavern,  and  from  mountain  to  mountain.  At 
length,  after  many  escapes  and  distresses,  he  found  means 
to  embark  on  board  a  small  vessel,  which  conveyed  him  in 
safety  to  Morlaix,  in  Bretagne. 

Punishment  now  awaited  those  who  had  escaped  death 
in  the  field  of  battle.  Seventeen  rebel  officers  were  exe- 
cuted at  Kennington  common,  near  London.  Lords  Kil- 
marnock, Bal merino,  and  Lovat,  suffered  decapitation  on 
Tower-hill,  as  did  also  Mr.  Ratclifte,  the  titular  earl  of 
Derwentwater,  on  his  former  sentence  in  1716. 

The  French  had  fitted  out  two  squadrons  at  Brest,  one 
to  make  a  descent  on  the  British  colonies  in  America,  the 
other  to  assist  the  operations  of  their  arms  in  the  East  In- 
dies.    These  squadrons,  however,  were  intercepted  and 
attacked  by  admirals  Anson  and  Warren,  and  .nine  ships 
were  taken,  on  board  of  which  was  found  a  great  quantity 
of  bullion,  which  was  landed  at  Spithead,  and  conveyed 
in  twenty  wagons  through  the  streets  of  London  to  the 
bank.      Soon  after,  admiral   Hawke  defeated  a 
French  fleet,  and  took  seven  ships  of  the  line  and  ,1« 
several  frigates ;  and,  in  the  course  of  this  year, 
the  British  cruisers  were  very  successful  in  capturing  the 
vessels  of  the  enemy. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  of  parliament,  the  king  in- 
formed both  houses  that  the  preliminaries  for  a 
general  peace  had  been  actually  signed  at  Aix-la-  yfAa 
Chapelle,  by  the  ministers  of  Great  Britain,  France, 


408  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

and  the  United  Provinces,  on  the  basis  of  a  general  resti- 
tution of  conquests. 

By  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  which  the  earl  of 
Sandwich  and  sir  Thomas  Robinson  were  the  British  ple- 
nipotentiaries, it  was  stipulated,  that  the  duchies  of  Parma, 
Placentia,  and  Guastalla,  should  be  ceded  to  Don  Philip, 
heir-apparent  to  the  Spanish  throne,  and  his  heirs ;  but, 
in  case  of  his  succeeding  to  the  crown  of  Spain,  that  then 
these  dominions  should  revert  to  the  house  of  Austria : 
that  the  fortifications  of  Dunkirk  to  the  sea  should  be  de- 
molished ;  that  the  king  of  Prussia  should  be  secured  in 
his  possession  of  Silesia,  which  he  had  conquered ;  and 
that  the  queen  of  Hungary  should  be  guarantied  in  her 
hereditary  dominions.  No  mention  was  made  of  the  right 
of  the  English  to  sail  in  the  American  seas  without  being 
subject  to  a  search,  though  this  claim  was  the  original 
cause  of  the  difference  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain. 
In  short,  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  one  advantage 
which  this  country  gained  by  a  war  that  had  cost  so  many 
millions  of  money. 

As  several  nations  on  the  continent  had  reformed  their 

calendar  according  to  the  computation  of  Pope  Gregory  the 

Thirteenth,  and  much  confusion  in  mercantile  transactions 

had  arisen,  the  parliament  decreed,  that  the  new  year 

should  begin  on  the  first  day  of  January,  and  that 

17^2  eleven   intermediate   nominal  days,  between  the 

second  and  fourteenth  of  September,  should  this 

year  be  omitted,  so  that  the  day  succeeding  the  second 

should  be  denominated  and  accounted  the  fourteenth. 

As  soon  as  the  French  had  recovered  a  little  from  the 
effects  of  the  late  war,  they  began  to  erect  forts  on  the 
back  of  the  British  settlements  in  North  America,  and 
they  also  attempted  to  seize  Nova-Scotia.  The  English 
government  receiving  only  evasive  answers  from  the  court 
of  France,  on  the  subject  of  the  encroachments  in  Ame- 
rica, ordered  the  governors  of  that  country  to  expel  the 
French  by  force  from  their  settlements  on  the  river  Ohio. 
In  consequence,  colonel  Washington,  who  afterwards 
made  himself  so  famous  in  the  cause  of  American  inde- 
pendence, was  despatched  from  Virginia  with  four  hundred 
men,  and  occupying  a  post  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  was 
attacked  by  the  French,  who  compelled  him  to  surrender 
the  fort.     It  was  now  evident  that  war  was  inevitable 


GEORGE   II.  409 

France  continued  to  send  reinforcements  of  men,  and  sup- 
plies of  ammunition  to  Quebec,  for  the  purpose  of  prose- 
cuting her  ambitious  projects  ;  and  the  ministry  of  Great 
Britain  exhorted  the  governors  of  the  provinces  in  North 
America  to  repel  the  incursions  of  the  enemy. 

Admiral  Boscawen  being  sent  with  a  squadron  of  ships  to 
protect  the  province  of  Nova- Scotia,  captured  two  French 
vessels,  the  Alcide  and  the  Lys.     About  the  same  time, 
general  Braddocfc,  who  had  been  sent  to  Virginia,  took 
upon  him  the  command  of  the  forces  destined  to 
act  against  the  French  on  the  Ohio;  and,  on  the  yyeti 
ninth  of  July,  while    advancing   without   proper 
caution,  he  was  suddenly  attacked  by  a  general  fire,  both 
in'front  and  flank,  from  an  invisible  enemy  concealed  be- 
hind the  trees  and  bushes.     The  van-guard  immediately 
fell  back,  and  horror  and  confusion  seized  the  ranks.    The 
general  himself  was  killed  by  a  musket- shot ;  and  the  few 
remaining  soldiers  instantly  fled  and  left  their  baggage  and 
ammunition  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Sir  William  Johnson,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the 
command  of  an  expedition  against  Crown  Point,  being 
attacked  by  the  French  and  Indians  near  Oswego,  on  the 
south-east  side  of  the  lake  Ontario,  defeated  the  enemy 
with  great  loss,  but  was  unable  to  proceed  on  the  ulterior 
object  of  his  orders. 

In  this  year  happened  a  terrible  catastrophe,  which  uni- 
ted all  parties  in  one  common  sentiment  of  humanity. 
On  the  first  of  November,  an  earthquake  destroyed  the 
greatest  part  of  the  city  of  Lisbon,  with  an  immense  num- 
ber of  its  inhabitants,  while  the  survivors,  destitute  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  were  exposed  to  misery  and  famine. 
On  this  occasion,  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain  gene- 
rously voted  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  the  distress- 
ed Portuguese. 

The  next  year,  a  treaty  between  his  Britannic  majesty 
and  the  king  of  Prusski  was  signed,  by  which  they  mutu- 
ally engaged  not  to  suffer  any  foreign  troops  to 
enter  Germany.     On  the  other  hand,  the  queen  of  ^~J^ 
Hungary,  though  she  owed  every  thing  to  Great 
Britain,  concluded  a  treaty  of  mutual  guarantee  and  sup- 
port with  France ;  and  she  refused  to  his  Britannic  majesty 
the  auxiliaries  that  she  had  agreed  to  furnish,  on  account 
of  her  dangerous  neighbour,  the  king  of  Prussia. 
35 


410  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Mr.  Pitt,  and  Mr.  Legge,  the  most  popular  members  of 
administration,  disapproving  of  the  political  measures 
which  had  been  adopted,  as  ruinous  and  absurd,  were  dis- 
missed from  office ;  and  the  seals  were  soon  after  trans- 
ferred from  sir  Thomas  Robinson  to  Mr.  Fox,  whose  abili- 
ties were  universally  acknowledged. 

The  French  equipped  a  formidable  squadron  of  ships  at 
Brest,  and  assembling  a  number  of  land  forces  and  trans- 
ports, threatened  England  with  an  invasion.  To  meet  the 
attack,  several  thousand  of  foreign  mercenaries  were  call- 
ed upon  to  assist  the  country,  on  the  presumption  that  the 
menaces  of  France  would  be  carried  into  effect ;  but,  un- 
der the  pretence  of  an  invading  armament,  the  French  pre- 
pared an  expedition,  which  too  well  succeeded. 

A  formidable  fleet  sailed  from  Toulon  with  forces  to  in- 
vade Minorca ;  and  when  admiral  Byng,  who  had  been 
sent  out  too  late,  arrival  at  Gibraltar,  he  found  that  the 
enemy  had  landed,  and  were  besieging  Fort  St.  Philip, 
which  was  defended  by  general  Blake ney.  The  admiral 
being  reinforced  by  a  detachment  from  the  garrison  at 
Gibraltar,  proceeded  to  Minorca,  and  perceived  the  Bri- 
tish colours  still  flying  at  the  castle  of  St.  Philip.  How- 
ever, before  a  landing  could  be  effected,  the  French  fleet, 
under  La  Galissoniere,  appeared  ;  but  though  an  engage- 
ment ensued,  both  commanders  seemed  averse  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  battle ;  and  the  French  admiral,  taking 
advantage  of  Byng's  hesitation,  sailed  away. 

In  a  council  of  war,  which  was  held  immediately  after 
this  indecisive  engagement,  it  was  unanimously  agreed, 
that  it  was  impracticable  to  relieve  the  castle  of  St.  Philip, 
and  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  return  to  Gibraltar,  which 
might  require  immediate  protection.  General  Blakeney 
receiving  no  assistance,  at  length  capitulated  on  honoura- 
ble terms. 

The  ministry,  irritated  against  admiral  Byng,  who  had 
complained  that  the  English  fleet  had  been  too  long  de- 
layed, and  that  the  ships  under  his  command  were  unfit 
for  service,  took  no  steps  to  lessen  the  odium  which  popu- 
lar prejudice  attached  to  him  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were 
pleased  to  find  the  olame  transferred  from  themselves, 
and  that  the  admiral's  imputed  misconduct  exonerated 
them  from  censure.  ' 

.  The  unfortunate  admiral  was  brought  to  trial,  and  the 


GEORGE  II.  411 

court  determined,  that  during  the  engagement  off 
Minorca,  he  did  not  use  his  utmost  endeavours  to  yit?~ 
take,  seize,  and  destroy,  the  ships  of  the  French 
king,  nor  exert  his  utmost  power  for  the  relief  of  the  castle 
of  St.  Philip ;  and,  that  the  punishment  attached  to  this 
sentence  was  death  ;  but,  as  they  believed  that  his  miscon- 
duct arose  neither  from  cowardice  nor  disaffection,  they 
earnestly  recommended  him  to  mercy. 

All  the  friends  and  relations  of  the  unhappy  man  exert- 
ed their  influence  to  obtain  a  remission  of  his  sentence, 
which  popular  clamour  alone  had  extorted  from  his  judges ; 
but,  the  sovereign  was  told,  that  the  death  of  Byng  was 
necessary  to  appease  the  fury  of  the  people  ;  and,  in  spite 
of  every  application,  a  warrant  was  signed  for  his  execu- 
tion. Thus  abandoned  to  his  fate,  the  unfortunate  admi- 
ral was  not  wanting  to  himself  on  this  trying  occasion. 
Conscious  of  the  uprightness  of  his  intentions,  he  ad- 
vanced to  the  quarter-deck  with  a  firm  and  deliberate 
step,  and  throwing  down  his  hat,  kneeled  on  a  cushion, 
tied  one  handkerchief  over  his  eyes,  and  dropped  another 
as  a  signal  to  his  executioners,  when  five  balls  passed 
through  his  body,  and  he  fell  dead  without  a  struggle. 

Notwithstanding  this  sacrifice,  the  clamours  against  the 
administration  continued  to  increase;  and  the  ministry 
found  it  necessary  to  admit  into  a  participation  of  office 
Mr.  Pitt  and  Mr.  Legge,  who  were  alike  distinguished  for 
their  spirit  and  integrity  ;  but  adverse  as  these  two  patriots 
were  to  his  majesty's  scheme  of  continental  politics,  they 
could  not  agree  with  their  colleagues,  and  were  dismissed 
from  their  situations,  iiddresses,  however,  poured  in  from 
all  parts,  in  favour  of  the  discarded  minister ;  and  the  king 
thought  proper  to  reinstate  Mr.  Pitt  in  his  former  situation 
of  secretary  of  state,  and  Mr.  Legge  in  the  office  of  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer. 

Public  affairs  were  adverse  at  the  commencement  of  this 
administration.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  against 
Rochefort ;  but  what  was  infinitely  more  disastrous,  the 
duke  of  Cumberland,  unable  to  contend  with  the  great 
military  talents  of  marshal  d'Etrees,  was  obliged  to  capi- 
tulate at  Closter  Seven,  by  which  Hanover  was  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  French,  and  an  army  of  thirty-eight  thousand 
Hanoverians  were  disarmed  and  disbanded.  This  inglo- 
rious convention  seems  to  have  been  the  crisis  of  the  war, 


412  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

which,  under  the  guidance  of  other  ministers,  produced 
the  most  splendid  events. 

In  America,  after  the  return  of  lord  Loudon  to  England, 
the  chief  command  devolved  on  major  general  Abercrom- 
bie.  On  the  27th  of  July,  Louisburgh  and  Cape  Breton 
surrendered  to  the  British  under  major-general  Am- 
,  1-^  herst ;  and  Fort  du  Quesne,  which  the  French  had 
evacuated,  was  garrisoned  under  the  name  of  Pitts- 
burgh, in  compliment  to  the  minister.  The  English  also 
concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Indian  nations  inhabiting  the 
country  between  the  Apalachian  mountains  and  the  lakes ; 
and  such  was  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  now  animated 
the  cabinet,  that  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  projected  as 
the  business  of  a  single  campaign. 

To  accomplish  this  important  object,  major-general 
Wolfe,  who  had  already  distinguished  himself  by  his  mili- 
tary talents,  was  directed  to  undertake  the  siege  of  Que- 
bec, while  general  Amherst,  after  reducing  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point,  was  to  cross  the  lake  Champlain,  and 
join  Wolfe  under  the  walls  of  the  capital  of  Canada. 

The  British  forces  under  general  Wolfe  arrived  in  the 
river  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  encamped  near  the  falls  of  the 
Montmorenci.  M.  de  Montcalm,  the  French  commander, 
though  his  troops  were  superior  in  number  to  the  invaders, 
had  taken  every  precaution  of  defence,  which  the  nature 
of  the  country  afforded.  The  city  of  Quebec  was  tolera- 
bly fortified  ;  and  Montcalm,  having  reinforced  the  troops 
of  the  colony,  with  this  army  occupied  an  advantageous 
situation  from  the  river  St.  Charles  to  the  falls  of  the 
Montmorenci. 

On  the  last  day  of  July,  the  British  general  made  dis- 
position for  an  assault,  under  cover  of  the  fire  from  the 
ships  in  the  river;  but  the  English  grenadiers,  impetu- 
ously attacking  the  enemy's  entrenchments  in  disorder, 
were  repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  Wolfe  was  obliged  to 
retreat. 

This  mortifying  check  preyed  on  the  spirits  of  the  gal- 
lant Wolfe,  who  could  not  brook  the  most  distant  prospect 
of  censure  or  disgrace,  and  who  declared  that  he  would 
rather  die  than  fail  of  ultimate  success.  At  length,  a  new 
plan  of  operations  was  concerted  for  landing  the  troops  in 
the  night  within  a  league  of  Cape  Diamond,  in  hopes  of 
ascending  the  heights  of  Abraham,  which  rise  abruptly 


GEORGE   II.  413 

with  a  steep  ascent  from  the  banks  of  the  river,  that  they 
might  gain  possession  of  the  grounds  on  the  back  of  the 
city,  where  it  was  but  slightly  fortified. 

This  plan  was  put  in  execution ;  and  the  troops  were 
disembarked  during  the  night  with  secrecy  and  silence ; 
but  the  precipice  still  remained  to  be  ascended.  With 
infinite  labour  and  difficulty,  the  troops  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  the  heights  of  Abraham,  and  the  general  drew 
them  up  in  order  of  battle  as  they  arrived.  When  M.  de 
Montcalm  understood  that  the  English  had  gained  these 
heights,  he  found  himself  under  the  necessity  of  risking 
an  engagement,  in  order  to  save  the  town,  and  accordingly 
advanced  his  men  with  great  intrepidity.  A  furious  con- 
test ensued,  and  general  Wolfe,  who  stood  in  the  front  of 
the  line,  early  received  a  shot  in  the  wrist,  to  which  he 
paid  little  regard  ;  but,  advancing  at  the  head  of  the  gre- 
nadiers, another  ball  pierced  his  breast,  and  compelled  him 
to  quit  the  scene  of  action.  As  he  reclined  on  the  arm  of 
an  officer,  he  was  roused  by  the  exclamation,  "  they  run ! 
they  run !"  "  Who  run  ?"  said  the  brave  Wolfe,  with  great 
eagerness.  "  The  French,"  replied  the  officer.  "  Then," 
said  he,  "  I  die  contented  ;"  and  almost  immediately  ex- 
pired in  the  arms  of  victory. 

The  French  general,  M.  de  Montcalm,  was  also  mor- 
tally wounded  in  the  battle,  and  died  soon  after ;  but  the 
advantage  remained  wholly  on  the  side  of  the  English. 
Quebec  was  obliged  to  surrender,  and  at  length  the  con- 
quest of  all  Canada  was  completed,  by  the  capture  of 
Montreal  under  general  Amherst. 

Success  indeed  attended  the  British  arms  in  every  quar- 
ter of  the  globe.  Fort  Louis  and  the  isle  of  Goree,  in 
Africa,  submitted  to  the  British ;  as  did  also  Guadaloupe, 
in  the  West  Indies.  Cherbourg  was  taken  by  commodore 
Howe,  and  Havre  de  Grace  bombarded  by  admiral  Rodney. 

In  the  Mediterranean,  M.  de  la  Clue  was  defeated  by 
admiral  Boscawen,  who  took  four  of  his  ships  ;  and  ano* 
ther  fleet  under  M.  de  Conflans  was  attacked  off  Quibe- 
ron  bay  by  sir  Edward  Hawke,  when  a  furious  battle  en- 
sued, and  night  alone  saved  the  French  from  total 
destruction.     In  this  last  engagement,  two  of  the  ^1 JL 
enemy's  best  ships  were  sunk,  one  struck  her  co- 
lours, two  were  stranded  and  destroyed,  and  the  Soleft 
Royal,  the  flag-ship  of  the  French  admiral,  was  burnt  by 
35* 


414  HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 

hpr  own  crew,  to  prevent  her  from  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  English. 

In  Germany  the  war  was  carried  on  with  great  vigour, 
and  the  glory  of  the  British  arms  raised  to  the  highest 
pitch;  and  though  the  empress  of  Russia  had  acceded 
to  the  alliance  concluded  between  the  courts  of  Versailles 
and  Vienna,  the  king  of  Prussia,  aided  by  his  Britannic 
majesty,  continued  to  make  head  against  the  numerous 
armies  of  those  powers. 

Such  was  the  general  posture  of  affairs,  when  George 
II.  died,  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  October,  in  the 
C^jm  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-fourth 
year  of  his  reign.     He  was  at  his  palace  of  Ken- 
sington :  and  having  risen  at  his  usual  hour,  he  observed 
to  his  attendants,  that  as  the  weather  was  fine,  he  would 
walk  out.     In  a  few  minutes  after,  being  left  alone,  he  was 
heard  to  fall ;  and,  being  lifted  on  the  bed,  he  desired,  in 
a  faint  voice,  that  the  princess  Amelia  might  be  called  ; 
but  before  she  could  arrive,  he  expired. 

George  the  Second  was  in  his  person  rather  below  the 
middle  size.  In  his  disposition  he  is  said  to  have  been 
prone  to  anger,  yet  soon  appeased ;  in  other  respects,  he 
was  mild  and  humane.  He  was  personally  brave,  and 
fond  of  war  as  a  soldier.  Though  his  foreign  politics  can- 
not be  commended,  his  internal  government  deserves  un- 
qualified praise. 

In  this  reign,  the  hopes  of  the  Stuart  party  and  family 
being  baffled,  and  the  legitimacy  of  the  Guelphs  generally 
recognised,  the  constitutional  government,  as  adjusted  at 
the  Revolution,  began  to  display  its  excellencies  and  faults, 
and  to  acquire  its  full  force. 

Parliaments  were  regularly  convened,  for  the  despatch 
of  all  business  connected  with  the  improvement  of  the 
laws,  and  the  regulation  of  the  revenue  ;  and  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  sovereign,  and  the  rights  of  the  legislature, 
were  duly  recognised  and  balanced. 

The  king  chose  his  ministers,  and  these  were  amenable 
to  parliament ;  while  the  latter  was  kept  in  good  humour 
by  the  influence  and  patronage  of  the  ministers.  The  of- 
fice of  prime-minister  began  now  to  distinguish  our  coun- 
cils. The  first  who  merited  the  name  was  sir  Robert 
Walpole,  a  favourite  confidential  minister  of  George  the 
First  and  Second ;  and  the  nation  under  him  and  his  sue- 


GEORGE  II.  415 

cessors,  presented  the  spectacle  of  a  sovereign  contented 
with  the  splendour  of  his  crown,  and  with  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  power,  under  the  advice  and  responsibility  of 
his  ministers ;  of  a  parliament  whose  majorities  were  go- 
verned by  the  influence  of  the  minister,  and  the  modera- 
tion and  plausibility  of  his  measures ;  and  of  a  people 
obedient  to  the  laws,  the  operation  of  which  they  had  the 
power  of  controlling  by  juries  formed  from  their  own  body. 
Such  a  state  of  society  continued  through  an  entire  ge- 
neration, begat  confidence  at  home  and  respect  abroad. 
The  public  securities  rose  in  value,  commerce  increased, 
domestic  improvements  were  made,  and  the  capabilities  of 
the  nation  in  arts,  arms,  and  industry,  began  to  develope 
themselves,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  more  decisive 
events  of  the  succeeding  reign. 


CONTINUATION, 

FROM 

THE    ACCESSION    OF    GEORGE    III 

TO    THE 

CORONATION  OF  GEORGE  XV. 


CHAP.  XXIII. 

The  reign  of  George  III 

On  the  decease  of  George  II.,  the  eldest  son  of  Frede- 
ric, prince  of  Wales,  succeeded  his  grandfather, 
under  the  most  favourable  auspices ;  as  the  third  t~,Sj 
of  his  name  and  family. 

This  young  and  native  sovereign,  whose  character  and 
affability  of  deportment  rendered  him  the  object  of  esteem, 
was  greeted  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  "  Born  and 
educated  in  this  country,"  said  his  majesty,  in  his  first 
speech  to  parliament,  "  I  glory  in  the  name  of  Briton." 

The  parliament,  with  the  general  approbation,  voted 
the  clear  yearly  sum  of  £800,000  for  the  maintenance  of 
his  majesty's  household,  and  the  support  of  the  royal  dig- 
nity, in  lieu  of  the  civil-list  revenues,  which  had  been  for- 
merly appropriated  for  the  sovereigns  of  this  country.  This 
was  followed  by  a  wise  and  liberal  regulation,  by  which 
the  judges  were  rendered  independent  of  the  crown,  and 
which,  as  it  passed  on  the  recommendation  of  the  king, 
justly  gained  his  majesty  universal  applause. 

The  war,  however,  was  prosecuted  with  unabated  vigour. 
The  island  of  Belleisle  surrendered  to  commodore  Keppel 
and  general  Hodgson.  In  the  East-Indies,  the  French 
were  divested  of  all  their  possessions  of  importance ;  and 
Pondicherry,  their  capital  settlement,  was  reduced  by  co- 
lonel Coote  and  admiral  Stevens.  In  the  West  Indies, 
Martinico,  and  some  other  islands,  were  added  to  the  list 
of  British  conquests. 

During  these  transactions,  Mr.  Pitt,  with  that  sagacity 
and  intuitive  foresight  which  characterize  an  able  states- 
man, anticipating  the  hostile  designs  of  Spain,  proposed 
an  immediate  declaration  of  war  against  that  kingdom ; 


GEORGE   III.  417 

but  this  measure  being  opposed  by  his  colleagues  in  office, 
and  finding  that  the  earl  of  Bute,  who  had  been  governor 
to  his  majesty,  had  acquired  an  ascendancy  in  the  royal 
favour,  he  disdained  to  act  a  subordinate  part,  resigned 
the  seals,  and  retired  with  a  pension  and  a  peerage  for  his 
lady. 

Lord  Bute,  who  had  been  previously  appointed  one  of 
the  principal  secretaries  of  state,  was  now  supposed  to  in- 
fluence the  decisions  of  government ;  but,  before  the  end 
of  the  year,  the  ministry  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  the 
measure  recommended  by  Mr.  Pitt,  and  to  declare  war 
against  Spain.  Havanna,  Manilla,  and  all  the  Philippine 
islands,  became,  in  consequence,  the  reward  of  British  va- 
lour. 

Amidst  these  successes,  however,  the  restoration  of  peace 
was  equally  desired  by  the  victors  and  the  vanquished ; 
and  after  some  time  had  been  spent  in  negotiation,  a  defi- 
nitive treaty  was   signed  at  Paris  on  the  10th  of 
|lfio  February,  and  peace  solemnly  proclaimed  in  Lon- 
don, on  the  22d  of  the  following  month.     By  this 
treaty,  Great  Britain  obtained  the  extensive  province  of 
Canada,  East  Florida,  West  Florida,  the  Grenadas  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  some  inferior  acquisitions  ;  but  restored 
all  the  other  conquests  made  during  the  war.  These  terms 
were  considered  in  England  as  degrading  to  the  nation ; 
and  clamours  were  raised  against  the  administration  of  lord 
Bute,  who  had  never  been  a  favourite  with  the  people. 

About  this  time  too,  the  daring  spirit  of  John  Wilkes, 
Esq.,  who  sat  in  parliament  for  Aylesbury,  contributed  to 
hasten  the  downfall  of  the  Premier.  This  man  published 
a  paper  called  "  The  North  Briton,"  in  which  he  attacked 
the  minister  with  great  asperity,  and  indulged  in  the  gross- 
est scurrility  against  the  whole  Scottish  nation.  Churchill, 
the  poet,  employed  his  satirical  powers  in  the  same  cause  ; 
and  the  ferment  excited  by  these  two  able,  but  profligate 
characters,  was  so  great,  that  the  earl  of  Bute  thought 
proper  to  resign  his  office  of  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  in 
which  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  George  Grenville. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  minister  was  the  prose- 
cution of  Mr.  Wilkes,  who,  in  the  North  Briton,  No.  45, 
had  asserted,  that  his  majesty's  speech,  which  he  affected 
to  consider  as  the  minister's,  contained  a  falsehood.  In 
consequence  of  this  violation  of  all  decorum,  Mr.  Wilkes 


418  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

was  apprehended  by  virtue  of  a  general  warrant,  his  pa- 
pers were  seized,  and  he  was  committed  to  the  tower.  In 
the  court  of  common  pleas,  however,  Mr.  Wilkes  was  ac- 
quitted of  the  charge  exhibited  against  him ;  and  lord 
chief  justice  Pratt  declared,  that  general  warrants  were  il- 
legal. 

Mr.  Grenville  possessed  integrity  and  abilities,  but  he 
wanted  a  sound  discriminating  judgment.  In  order  to , 
raise  a  revenue  from  the  American  colonies,  he  projected 
a  stamp-act,  which,  being  resisted  by  the  Americans,  was 
afterwards  repealed  ;  but  the  attempt  and  its  failure  laid 
the  foundation  for  that  fatal  contest,  which  at  length  ter- 
minated in  the  independence  of  the  American  colonies. 

The  name  of  the  princess  of  Wales  having  been 
omitted  in  the  bill  for  appointing  a  regency,  in  con-  t~,?Z 
sequence  of  his  majesty's  illness,  the  king,  after  re- 
covering from  his  indisposition,  determined  to  change  his 
ministers  ;  and  the  marquis  of  Rockingham  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  a  new  administration.     The  highly  respecta- 
ble character  of  the  marquis,  however,  could  not  secure  the 
new  ministers  a  continuance  in  office.  Possessing  a  great 
share  of  moderation  in  principles,  their  opponents  effectu- 
ally made  head  against  them ;  and  the  duke  of  Grafton 
became  first  lord  of  the  treasury  ;  while  Mr.  Pitt,  who  was 
now  raised  to  the  dignity  of  earl  of  Chatham,  accepted  the 
office  of  privy  seal. 

Mr.  Charles  Townshend,  the  chancellor  of  the* 
exchequer,  who  possessed  eminent  talents  for  busi-  ,  lf^ 
ness,  but  too  much  versatility  of  disposition,  unhap- 
pily  revived  the  design  of  taxing  America,  though  taxation 
and  representation  cannot  constitutionally  be  separated  ; 
and  while  the  earl  of  Chatham  was  confined  by  extreme 
illness,  he  brought  in  a  bill  for  imposing  a  duty  on  tea, 
and  some  other  articles  imported  into  the  colonies.  Against 
this  design,  the  Americans  formed  a  general  combination 
for  not  receiving  any  of  the  commodities  thus  taxed,  from 
the  mother  country  ;  and,  the  acts  were  again  repealed, 
except  as  far  as  related  to  the  duties  on  tea.  This  con- 
cession, however,  gave  little  satisfaction  to  the  Americans, 
who  considered  the  late  acts  as  unconstitutional,  and  pro- 
posed a  general  union  of  the  colonies  for  defending  their 
natural  rights. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Townshend  died,  and   his  place  of 


GEORGE   III.  419 

chancellor  of  the  exchequer  was  filled  by  lord  North.  Some 
other  changes  also  took  place  ;  and  the  earl  of  Chat- 
ham, who  had  long  been  treated  with  disregard,  either  on 
account  of  his  infirmities,  or  his  uncomplying  disposition, 
resigned  his  office  of  privy-seal,  and  from  this  time  lived 
unconnected  with  the  affairs  of  government,  though  he 
frequently  took  an  active  part  in  the  interesting  debates 
which  agitated  this  period. 

The  discontents  which  had  been  produced  in 
^1,70  America  by  the  insidious,  not  to  say  unjust  designs 
of  the  ministry,  were  about  to  break  out  into  a 
flame,  that  spread  into  a  general  conflagration.  Laws  hav- 
ing been  passed  for  quartering  troops  in  the  colonies,  and 
for  rendering  the  governors  of  the  different  provinces  solely 
dependant  on  the  crown,  the  Americans,  in  order  to  show 
their  aversion  to.  the  measures  of  the  British  government, 
and  their  determination  to  resist,  destroyed  a  large  quanti- 
ty of  tea  at  Boston,  and  obliged  ships  laden  with  the  same 
commodity  to  return  from  other  places  without  landing 
their  cargoes.  In  consequence  of  these  proceedings,  acts 
were  passed  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston,  and  for 
altering  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts  bay  and  Quebec. 

This  violent  stretch  of  power  excited  the  utmost  indig- 
nation in  America  ;  and  the  colonies  entered  into  a  solemn 
league  and  covenant  to  suspend  all  commercial  intercourse 
with  Great  Britain,  till  the  obnoxious  acts  were  repealed. 
Meanwhile,  measures  were  adopted  for  holding  a  general 
congress  of  the  American  colonies;  and  a  bold  and  spirit- 
ed remonstrance,  soliciting  a  redress  of  grievances,  was 
addressed  to  the  king.  All  remonstrances  and  petitions, 
however,  being  equally  disregarded,  and  every  avenue  to 
accommodation,  except  by  implicit  submission,  shut  up, 
\  the  Americans  determined  to  have  recourse  to  arms,  as  the 
only  means  left  for  defending  their  unalienable  rights. 

On  the   19th  of  April,  general  Gage,  commander  in 
chief,  having  beeri  informed  that  the  Americans 
177  c  had  collected  military  stores  at  Concord,  sent  a  de- 
tachment to  seize  them.     The  detachment  was  at- 
tacked at  Lexington,  and  many  were  killed  on  both  sides ; 
but  the  loss  on  the  side  of  the  British  far  exceeded  that  of 
their  opponents. 

The  torch  of  civil  war  being  thus  lighted  up,  the  colo- 
nists flew  to  arms  as  if  by  concert,  and  assumed  the  title 


420  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

of  "  the  United  States  of  America,"  whose  affairs  were  to 
be  managed  by  a  congress.  This  body  of  representatives 
instantly  passed  resolutions  for  raising  an  army,  for  issuing 
a  paper  currency  for  its  payment,  and  for  prohibiting  all 
importations  to  those  places  which  still  remained  faithful 
in  their  allegiance  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  engagement,  the  British  army  in 
America  was  strengthened  by  a  large  reinforcement,  which 
arrived  from  England,  under  the  command  of  generals 
Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Clinton.  Martial  law  was  now 
proclaimed ;  but  the  congress  was  not  easily  intimidated  ; 
and  voting  that  the  compact  between  the  crown  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  was  dissolved,  they  re- 
commended that  province  to  resume  its  chartered  rights. 

As  further  hostilities  were  now  mutually  expected,  the 
Americans,  that  they  might  secure  Charlestown,  sent  a 
detachment  of  men  at  night  to  erect  some  considerable 
works  on  Bunker's  Hill.     When  these  operations  were 
discovered  in  the  morning,  a  heavy  fire  commenced  from 
the  ships  ;  and  the  Americans  were  with  difficulty  driven 
from  their  entrenchments  by  generals  Howe  and  Pigot. 
In  this  action,  which  was  very  severe,  the  loss  of  the  Bri- 
tish in  killed  and  wounded  amounted  nearly  to  half 
,1^1  their  number,  and  included  many  officers.     After 
this  affair,  the  colonists  threw  up  works  on  another 
hill  opposite  ;  and  the  British  troops  were  closely  invested 
in  the  peninsula. 

The  general  congress  published  a  very  animated  decla- 
ration, in  which  their  reasons  for  taking  up  arms  were  as- 
signed, and  the  objects  for  which  they  contended  were 
distinctly  pointed  out.  They  also  appointed  George 
Washington  general  and  commander  in  chief  of  the  Ame- 
rican forces.  This  gentleman  had  acquired  some  experi- 
ence in  the  last  war,  when  he  commanded  different  bodies 
of  provincials ;  and  his  conduct  and  military  skill  fully 
justified  the  partiality  of  his  countrymen.  Another  peti- 
tion to  the  king  was  also  voted  by  congress,  in  which  they 
earnestly  beseeched  his  majesty  to  adopt  some  method  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  unhappy  contest  between  Great  Bri- 
tain and  the  colonies  ;  but  this  petition,  though  presented 
by  Mr.  Penn,  late  governor,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
Pennsylvania,  did  not  obtain  an  answer. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Americans,  prepared  for  every 


GEORGE   III.  421 

event,  and  animated  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  people  con- 
tending for  liberty,  no  longer  confined  themselves  to  de- 
fensive operations.  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  had 
already  been  taken  by  a  party  of  Americans  ;  and  it  was 
determined  to  fit  out  an  expedition  against  Canada,  un- 
der generals  Montgomery  and  Arnold ;  but  in  an  attempt 
against  Quebec,  Montgomery  fell,  and  Arnold,  after  being 
dangerously  wounded,  was  compelled  to  make  a  precipi- 
tate retreat. 

The  state  of  the  royal  army  at  Boston  had  now  become 
deplorable.     By  a  masterly  alroke,  Washington  compel- 
led the  British  to  abandon  the  town  ;  and  all  the  English 
troops,  with  such  loyalists  as  chose  to  accompany 
them,  were  precipitately  embarked  and  conveyed  *j~A 
to  Halifax.     Next  day,  general  Washington  enter- 
ed Boston  in  triumph. 

Soon  after,  congress,  in  a  solemn  declaration,  withdrew 
all  allegiance  from  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  assumed 
for  the  colonies  the  style  and  character  of  "  Free  and  In- 
dependent States."  They  also  published  articles  of  con- 
federation and  perpetual  union  between  the  provinces ; 
while  in  proportion  as  the  prospect  of  bringing  them  to 
submission  was  lessened,  the  arrogance  and  infatuation  of 
the  British  ministry,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  lord  North, 
seemed  to  increase. 

An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  upon  Charlestown, 
in  which  the  English  suffered  severely  ;  but  about  the  same 
time,  general  Howe  obtained  possession  of  New- York; 
and  general  Clinton  and  sir  Peter  Parker  took  Rhode 
Island.  General  Howe,  and  his  brother,  admiral  lord 
Howe,  were  regarded  with  partiality  by  the  Americans ; 
and  some  overtures  of  reconciliation  were  made  by  the 
two  brothers;  but  the  manifesto  which  they  published 
offered  only  pardon  to  the  colonists,  and  produced  no 
beneficial  purpose. 

The  ill  success  of  the  Americans,  however,  was  pro- 
ductive of  those  internal  effects  which  operate  as  strongly 
as  external  force  ;  and  at  this  period,  if  terms  of  conces- 
sion had  been  offered  by  Great  Britain,  the  constitutional 
supremacy  of  the  mother  country  might  probably  have 
been  acknowledged ;  but  the  time  of  conciliation  was  ne- 
glected, and  the  infatuation  of  ministers  prevailed. 

In  the  next  campaign,  the  Americans  were  defeated  by 
36 


422  HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

general  Howe  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine ;  and  the  Eng- 
lish entered  Philadelphia  in  triumph.    On  the  othei 
^li^  hand,  general  Burgoyne,  who  had  set  out  from 
Quebec  with  an  army  often  thousand  men,  in  order 
to  form  a  line  of  communication  between  New- York  and 
Canada,  after  driving  the  Americans  before  him  for  some 
time,  was  at  last  surrounded  at  Saratoga  by  general  Gates, 
and  obliged  to  lay  down  his  arms. 

The  success  of  the  Americans  now  determined  the  court 

of  France  to  declare  in  favour  of  the  new  republic ; 

,17q  and  so  gloomy  was  the  prospect  of  Great  Britain, 

that  ministers  sent  commissioners  to  America  to 

treat  of  peace  ;  but  this  attempt  at  conciliation  was  of  no 

essential  service. 

Hostilities  commenced  with  France,  by  a  naval  engage- 
ment between  admiral  Repple  and  count  d'Orvilliers  ;  and 
victory  would  have  been  decisive  in  favour  of  the  British, 
if  sir  Hugh  Palliser  had  obeyed  the  signals  of  the  admi- 
ral. Both  officers  were  tried  before  a  court-martial.  Pal- 
liser, though  found  guilty,  was  only  slightly  censured ; 
while  admiral  Repple  was  honourably  acquitted. 

Meanwhile,  Pondicherry  in  the  East,  and  the  island  of 
St.  Lucia  in  the  West  Indies,  were  captured  by  the  Eng- 
lish ;  but  Dominica,  St.  Vincent,  and  Grenada,  were  taken 
by  the  French,  who  assisted  the  Americans  with  a  fleet 
commanded  by  the  count  d'Estaing.  In  attempt- 
ing ing  the  relief  of  Grenada,  an  indecisive  engage- 
ment took  place  between  admiral  Byron  with  a 
fleet  of  twenty-one  ships,  and  the  count  d'Estaing,  who 
had  twenty-five  or  twenty- six  ships  of  the  line,  besides 
twelves  frigates,  under  his  command.  After  this  action, 
the  French  admiral,  in  conjunction  with  the  Americans, 
attempted  the  reduction  of  Savannah,  but  was  frustrated 
by  general  Prevost.  In  Europe,  the  French  made  a  de- 
scent with  a  considerable  force  on  Jersey,  but  were  re- 
pulsed by  the  promptitude  of  major  Pearson,  the  English 
commandant,  who  fell  in  the  moment  of  victory,  at  the 
head  of  his  small  corps. 

Before  the  close  of  this  session,  his  majesty  announced 
*o  parliament  that  Spain  had  joined  the  alliance  against 
England  ;  and  this  new  enemy  having  joined  the  French 
with  thirty  ships  of  the  line,  the  combined  fleets  of  those 
two  neighbouring  powers  for  some  time  rode  triumphant 


GEORGE   III.  423 

in  the  British  channel,  and  menaced  the  English  coast 
with  impunity.  Spain  also  took  New-Orleans  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  closely  invested  Gibraltar. 

Admiral  sir  George  Rodney,  being  appointed  to  the 
chief  naval  command  in  the  West  Indies,  obtained 
a  complete  victory  over  a  Spanish  fleet  of  eleven  i^oq 
sail  off  Cape  St.  Vincent ;  and  after  relieving  Gib- 
raltar, he  proceeded  to  execute  his  ulterior  orders,  and  had 
three  indecisive  engagements  with  the  French  fleet  in  the 
West  Indies. 

In  June,  the  same  year,  happened  one  of  the  most 
dreadful  riots  in  London  which  history  records.  It  arose 
from  the  fanaticism  of  an  association  of  protestant  secta- 
ries, who  fancied  that  religion  was  in  danger,  on  account 
of  some  just  and  equitable  indulgences  which  the  legisla- 
ture had  recently  granted  to  the  Roman  catholics.  A  mob, 
collected  by  a  procession  of  this  association,  pulled  down 
or  burnt  several  popish  chapels,  broke  open  many  of  the 
prisons,  and  liberated  both  felons  and  debtors.  In  a  few 
days,  however,  the  riots  were  quelled,  and  lord  George 
Gordon,  the  president  of  the  association,  was  committed 
to  the  tower. 

From  the  agitations  of  war  and  faction,  we  turn  with 
pleasure  to  the  progress  made  by  science  and  the  arts, 
under  the  munificent  patronage  of  George  the  Third. 
Byron,  who  was  commissioned  in  1764  to  explore  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  circumnavigate  the  globe, 
corrected  by  his  observations  the  errors  of  former  charts, 
and  discovered  several  islands  in  the  South  Pacific.  A 
few  years  after,  captain  Wallis  sailed  on  a  similar  expedi- 
tion, and,  on  the  1 9th  of  June,  1767,  perpetuated  his  name 
by  the  discovery  of  Otaheite,  (or  King  George's  Island,)  in 
the  South  Pacific,  and  of  other  islands  in  the  same  ocean. 
Carteret  also  traversed  the  Pacific,  and  circumnavigated 
the  globe.  Each  of  these  navigators  contributed  an  ac- 
cession of  geographical  knowledge. 

To  captain  James  Cook,  however,  more  than  to  any 
other  individual  since  the  time  of  Columbus,  we  are  in- 
debted for  extending  the  boundaries  of  geographical  sci- 
ence. In  his  first  voyage  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  in  1770, 
he  discovered  the  Society  Islands,  determined  the  insula- 
rity of  New  Zealand,  and  explored  the  eastern  coast  of 
New-Holland.    In  his  second  voyage,  in  1773,  he  disco- 


424  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

vered  New  Caledonia,  the  island  of  Georgia,  and  an  un- 
known coast,  which  he  named  Sandwich  Land.  In  1776. 
another  voyage  of  discovery  being  proposed  by  the  govern- 
ment, the  Resolution  and  Discovery  were  fitted  out  for 
that  purpose,  and  captains  Cook  and  Clerke  were  appoint- 
ed to  this  expedition.  This  last  voyage  was  particularly 
distinguished  by  the  extent  and  importance  of  its  disco- 
veries. Besides  several  small  islands  in  the  South  Pacific, 
Cook  discovered  the  group  of  islands  called  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  explored  the  western  coast  of  America  from 
the  latitude  of  forty-three  to  seventy  degrees  north,  and 
ascertained  the  proximity  of  the  two  great  continents  of 
Asia  and  America.  In  September,  1780,  the  Resolution 
and  Discovery  returned  to  England  from  this  voyage  round 
the  world,  but  to  the  grief  of  every  person  who  respected 
worth  and  talents,  without  captain  Cook,  who  had  been 
unfortunately  killed  by  the  natives  of  Owyhee,  one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  which  he  had  discovered. 

This  year  was  also  memorable  for  the  armed  neutrality 
entered  into  by  the  northern  {towers  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
sisting the  English  in  exercising  the  right  of  searching 
neutral  vessels,  on  the  principle  that  "  free  bottoms  make 
free  goods."  It  being  discovered  that  the  States  General 
had  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  American  government, 
England  declared  war  against  Holland. 

The  Dutch  island  of  St.  Eustatius,  and  the  settlements 
of  Demarara,  Berbice,  and  Issequibo,  submitted  to  the 
British ;  -  and  a  severe  engagement  took  place  between 
admiral  sir  Hyde  Parker  and  the  fleet  of  Holland  off  the 
Dogger  Bank,  but  without  any  decisive  issue  on  either  side. 

In  America,  alternate  successes  and  reverses  attended 
the  arms  of  Britain ;  but  even  victory  was  fatal  to  Eng- 
land, while  defeats  were  doubly  injurious,  and  rendered 
the  colonists  certain  of  a  prosperous  issue.     Indeed,  the 
cause  of  Britain  in  this  contest  with  her  American  colonies 
daily  declined,  and  became  more  desperate.     Earl  Corn- 
wallis,  who  had  distinguished  himself  on  various  occasions, 
was  at  length  surrounded  by  General  Washington, 
.  1q-#  assisted  by  the  marquis  de  la  Fayette,  and  obliged 
to  surrender  the  whole  of  his  forces,  amounting  to 
seven  thousand  men,  to  the  combined  French  and  Ameri- 
can army,  at  York  Town,  in  Virginia ;  an  event  which 


GEORGE   III.  425 

terminated  the  hopes  of  the  British  government  in  Ameri- 
ca, and  ended  the  war. 

About  the  same  time,  St.  Eustatius  was  recovered  from 
the  English  ;  and  the  Spaniards  made  themselves  masters 
of  West  Florida.  The  siege  of  Gibraltar  was  also  carried 
on  with  vigour ;  but  the  place  was  very  ably  defended  by 
the  heroic  governor,  general  Elliot. 

In  the  East  Indies,  Hyder  Ally,  the  confederate  of 
France,  took  Arcot  by  assault,  and  cut  to  pieces,  or  made 
prisoners  of  a  detachment  under  colonel  Baillie.  Sir  Eyre 
Coote,  however,  defeated  Hyder  in  two  subsequent  en- 
gagements, relieved  Vellore,  and  retrieved  the  fortune  of 
the  war  in  the  Carnatic. 

After  the  surrender  of  earl  Cornwallis  to  general  Wash- 
ington, the  influence  of  the  British  ministry  was  at  an  end; 
and  a  change  of  measures  appearing  absolutely  necessary, 
a  complete  revolution  in  the  cabinet  took  place  on 
the  twenty-seventh  of  March,  under  the  auspices  yvan 
of  the  marquis  of  Rockingham,  who  was  appointed 
first  lord  of  the  treasury.     The  earl  of  Shelburne  and  Mr. 
Fox  were  appointed  secretaries  of  state. 

Peace  was  now  ardently  desired  by  all  ranks  of  people 
in  this  country ;  and  the  new  ministry  consented  that  the 
independence  of  America  should  be  allowed,  and  entered 
into  measures  for  effectuating  a  general  treaty  of  pacifica- 
tion. For  this  purpose,  Mr.  Grenville  was  sent  to  Paris, 
with  full  powers  to  treat  with  all  the  belligerent  nations, 
and  orders  were  despatched  to  the  commanders  in  chief  in 
America,  to  acquaint  them  with  the  pacific  views  of  the 
British  cabinet,  and  with  the  offer  of  independence  to  the 
United  States. 

After  the  capture  of  lord  Cornwallis  and  his  army,  the 
English  suffered  a  series  of  losses  in  America.  The  French 
took  Nevis,  St.  Christophers,  and  Montserrat ;  the  Baha- 
ma islands  surrendered  to  the  Spaniards ;  and  Jamaica 
was  threatened  by  the  fleets  of  Spain  and  France,  on  board 
of  which  was  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men.  This  for- 
midable armament,  however,  was  prevented  from  uniting 
by  the  promptitude  and  bravery  of  admiral  Rodney,  who 
engaged  and  totally  defeated  the  French  under  count  de 
Grasse,  before  it  could  form  a  junction  with  the  Spanish 
fleet.  The  French  admiral,  in  the  Ville  de  Paris  qf  120 
guns,  was  taken,  with  two  seventy-four  gun  ships,  and  one 
36* 


426  HISTOKY   OF   ENGLAND. 

of  sixty-four  guns.  Two  other  ships  of  the  line  were  lost 
in  the  action  ;  and  a  few  days  after,  sir  Samuel  Hood  cap- 
tured two  more  French  ships  of  the  line  and  two  frigates. 
This  decisive  and  glorious  victory,  which  was  achieved  on 
the  12th  of  April,  put  a  stop  to  the  intended  project  against 
Jamaica ;  and  admiral  Rodney,  in  reward  for  his  services, 
was  gratified  with  a  peerage  and  a  pension. 

The  valour  of  the  British  arms  was  most  remarkably 
displayed  at  Gibraltar,  where  the  English,  under  that 
brave  veteran  general  Elliot,  acquired  immortal  honour, 
and  converted  one  of  the  most  formidable  attacks  that  had 

^   .  ever  been  made  in  the  history  of  sieges,  to  the  de- 
I  a  '  struction  of  the  assailants,  and  the  frustration  of  all 

1 70k  the  hopes  of  the  enemy.  The  enthusiasm  and  gal- 
lantry of  Elliot  and  his  garrison  were  emulated  by 
lard  Howe  and  the  fleet.  To  the  admiration  of  all  Eu- 
rope, that  brave  admiral,  with  thirty-four  sail  of  the  line, 
passed  the  straits  in  the  face  of  a  superior  enemy,  and 
threw  succours  into  the  fortress. 

This  was  the  last  transaction  of  importance  during  the 
continuance  of  the  war  in  Europe ;  and  thus  the-  military 
career  of  Britain,  after  her  repeated  misfortunes,  termi- 
nated with  great  splendour.  All  the  belligerent  powers 
were  now  inclined  to  listen  to  overtures  of  pacification. 
The  happy  prospect,  however,  of  peace  and  prosperity 
was  obscured  for  a  time  by  the  death  of  the  marquis  of 
Rockingham,  from  whose  administration  the  nation  had 
Ibrmed  great  expectations.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  earl 
of  Shelburne,  and  Mr.  Fox  resigned  his  office  of  secretary 
of  the  northern  department. 

The  new  ministers,  however,  continued  the  negotiation 
for  peace  ;  and  as  the  independence  of  America  was  vir- 
tually recognised,  the  war  with  the  colonies  had  in  fact 
terminated.  At  length,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1782, 
provisional  articles,  between  England  and  America,  were 
signed  at  Paris.  By  this  treaty,  the  sovereignty  and  inde 
pendence  of  the  United  States  were  fully  acknowledged 
So  great,  indeed,  were  the  concessions  of  ministers  on 
this  occasion,  that  they  neglected  the  interests  of  the  loy- 
alists in  America,  whose  estates  had  been  confiscated,  and 
wiio  were  thus  thrown  on  the  generosity  of  the  British. 

In  our  treaties  with  the  French,  the  Dutch,  and  the 
Spaniards,  the  same  improvident  facility  was  apparent ; 


GEORGE    III,  427 

and  these  treaties,  when  submitted  to  parliament, 


A.   D. 


extorted  the  severest  animadversions.  By  this  ca-  ,  lo« 
lamitous  war,  Great  Britain  lost  the  best  part  of 
her  transatlantic  colonies,  and,  besides  many  thousands  of 
valuable  lives,  expended  or  squandered  nearly  150  millions 
of  money.  The  address  of  thanks  for  the  peace  was 
carried  in  the  house  of  lords  by  a  majority  of  72  to  59, 
but  lost  in  the  house  of  commons  by  a  majority  of  224 
to  208. 

It  was  now  discovered  that  Mr.  Fox,  in  his  animosity  to 
the  earl  of  Shelburne,  had  formed  a  coalition  with  his  for- 
mer political  antagonist,  lord  North.  This  unnatural  and 
unprincipled  coalition,  which  excited  general  indignation, 
was  defended  by  Mr.  Fox  on  the  strange  plea,  that  the 
question  of  American  independence  being  now  at  rest,  he 
had  no  desire  to  perpetuate  his  enmity  to  a  statesmam 
whom  he  had  found  honourable  as  an  adversary,  and  of 
whose  openness  and  sincerity  as  a  friend  he  had  no  doubt. 

Their  united  opposition  prevailed,  and  a  change  took 
place  in  the  ministry.  The  duke  of  Portland  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  treasury,  lord  John  Cavendish  was  made 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  and  lord  North  and  Mr.  Fox 
were  appointed  joint  secretaries  of  state.  The  coalition 
administration  became  the  theme  of  universal  and  pas- 
sionate execration  ;  and  when  public  confidence  is  once 
lost,  it  can  never  be  completely  regained. 

Mr.  Pitt,  the  son  of  the  immortal  earl  of  Chatham,  and 
who  afterwards  rivalled  his  father's  glory,  made  a  motion 
for  a  parliamentary  reform,  and  proposed  to  add  one  hun- 
dred members  to  the  counties,  and  abolish  a  proportiona- 
ble number  of  the  obnoxious  boroughs.  This  plan,  though 
certainly  the  most  judicious  that  has  yet  been  proposed 
for  the  independence  of  parliamentary  representation,  was 
negatived  by  a  large  majority. 

Soon  after  the  meeting  of  parliament  in  November,  Mr. 
Fox  introduced  a  bill  for  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  East- 
India  Company.  This  famous  bill  proposed  to  deprive 
the  directors  and  proprietors  of  the  entire  administration, 
not  only  of  their  territorial,  but  also  of  their  commercial 
affairs,  and  to  vest  the  management  and  direction  of  them 
in  seven  commissioners  named  in  the  bill,  and  irremovable 
by  the  crown,  except  in  consequence  of  an  address  of 
either  house  of  parliament.    It  passed  through  the  lower 


428  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

house  by  a  great  majority,  but  was  lost  in  the  upper,  after 
very  animated  debates,  in  which  its  unconstitutional  prin- 
ciples were  fully  exposed. 

The  king,  being  informed  of  the  nature  and  tendency  of 
this  bill,  considered  himself  duped  and  deceived  ;  and  the 
coalition  ministry,  which  had  been  deservedly  unpopular, 
were  suddenly  dismissed.  Mr.  Pitt,  then  a  very  young  man, 
was  declared  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and  chancellor  of 
the  exchequer ;  the  marquis  of  Caerrnarthen,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Townshend,  created  lord  Sydney,  were  nominated 
secretaries  of  state  ;  and  lord  Thurlow  was  appointed  to 
the  office  of  lord-chancellor.  The  intelligence  of  this 
change  was  received  by  the  nation  with  transports  of  joy. 

The  discarded  ministers,  however,  still  maintained  their 
influence  in  the  house  of  commons ;  and  the  singular 
spectacle  was  exhibited  of  a  minister  retaining  his  situation 
in  defiance  of  the  votes  of  the  commons,  and  of  an  oppo- 
sition restraining  the  power  of  the  executive,  by  prohibiting 
the  issuing  of  payments  from  the  bank  or  the  exchequer, 
for  the  public  service.  At  length,  after  strong  and  repeated 
M      ,  contests  between  the   two  factions,  during  which 

Sr  tne  miniser  found  himself  frequently  in  a  minority, 
17o4  the  parliament  was  dissolved  by  proclamation,  and 
a  new  one  convened.  So  complete  was  the  rout  of 
the  coalition  party,  that  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  mem- 
bers who  lost  their  seats  at  the  general  election,  nearly  the 
whole  were  the  friends  either  of  Mr.  Fox  or  lord  North. 

The  arrangements  of  a  plan  for  the  future  government 
of  India,  was  the  most  important  business  to  which  the  at- 
tention of  the  new  parliament  was  first  directed.  The  bill 
which  Mr.  Pitt  introduced  for  that  purpose,  was  carried 
through  the  house  of  commons  by  a  great  majority ;  and 
in  the  upper  house,  though  strongly  opposed,  it  passed 
Jirith  a  few  dissenting  votes. 

In  the  next  session,  Mr.  Pitt  brought  forward  his  plan 
for  a  reform  in  the  representation,  varying  in  some 
^1^  measure  from  his  former  project,  but  in  every  re- 
spect temperate  and  judicious.  The  result  of  this 
plan  was  to  give  one  hundred  members  to  the  popular  in- 
terest, and  to  extend  the  elective  franchise  to  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  persons,  who,  by  the  existing  laws, 
were  excluded  from  voting  for  members  of  parliament. 
After  a  debate  of  considerable  length,  in  which  Mr.  Fox 


GEORGE  III.  429 

bestowed  on  the  plan  a  just  and  liberal  tribute  of  praise, 
the  bill  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  274  to  174.  Mr.  Pitt 
was  equally  unsuccessful  in  attempting  to  settle  the  com- 
merce of  England  and  Ireland  on  a  mutual  and  equitable 
footing.  His  propositions,  which  were  amended  in  the 
house  of  lords,  passed  in  England  with  difficulty  ;  but,  in 
the  Irish  parliament,  they  were  rejected  with  marked  dis- 
approbation. 

Among  the  various  measures  agitated  by  parliament  du- 
ring the  next  session,  was  a  plan  for  .extinguishing  the  na- 
tional debt.  This  celebrated  plan  was  founded  on 
a  report  framed  by  a  select  committee,  who  had  t'7oA 
been  appointed  to  examine  the  annual  income  and 
expenditure  of  the  state.  By  this  report  it  appeared,  that 
the  public  income  for  the  year  1785  exceeded  the  annual 
expenditure  by  £900,000.  This  surplus  the  minister  pro- 
posed to  increase  to  one  million,  and  to  appropriate  the 
annual  sum  of  one  million  to  the  liquidation  of  the  national 
debt.  This  annual  million  Mr.  Pitt  proposed  to  be  vested 
in  the  hands  of  certain  commissioners,  to  be  by  them  ap- 
plied regularly  in  the  purchase  of  stock.  In  the  progress 
of  the  bill,  Mr.  Fox  suggested  an  amendment,  which  was 
gratefully  received  by  the  minister — that  whenever  a  new 
loan  should  in  future  be  made,  the  commissioners  should 
be  empowered  to  accept  of  the  loan,  or  such  proportion 
of  it  as  should  be  equal  to  the  cash  then  in  their  hands  ; 
and  that  the  interest  and  douceur  annexed  to  it  should  be 
applied  to  the  purposes  of  the  sinking-fund.  The  bill  finally 
passed,  with  great  and  deserved  approbation  ;  and  this 
measure  has  been  in  general  pursued  under  almost  every 
change  of  circumstances,  and  amidst  unexampled  diffi- 
culties. 

During  the  following  year,  the  republican  party  in  Hol- 
land having  obtained  an  accession  of  strength,  and  being 
secretly  favoured  by  the  court  of  France,  renoun- 
ced the  authority  of  the  Stadtholder,  under  the  pre-  ^'7^j 
text  that  he  sacrificed  the  interests  of  his  country  to 
predilection  for  the  English.  The  active  interference,  how- 
ever, of  the  king  of  Prussia,  in  defence  of  the  prince  of 
Orange,  to  whom  he  was  nearly  related  by  marriage,  re- 
stored the  authority  of  the  Stadtholder,  while  the  dignified 
tone  and  vigorous  preparations  of  the  British  minister  inti- 
midated the  French  from  assisting  the  republicans. 


430  H1STOEY  OP  ENGLAND. 

This  year  is  also  remarkable  for  the  impeachment  of 
Warren  Hastings,  Esq.,  late  governor- general  of  Bengal. 
The  trial  of  this  gentleman  continued  for  seven  years,  and 
terminated  in  his  honourable  acquittal.  The  disgraceful 
procrastination  of  his  trial,  and  the  acrimony  with  which 
it  was  conducted,  led  many  to  compassionate  a  man,  who, 
held  up  as  a  great  public  delinquent,  seemed  destined  to 
lead  a  life  of  impeachment,  and  to  have  become  the  object 
of  a  relentless  persecution.  If  there  were  errors  in  the 
conduct  of  Warren  Hastings,  they  were  more  than  com- 
pensated by  his  exertions  and  moral  intentions  ;  and  it 
may  safely  be  affirmed,  that  in  the  administration  of  India, 
he  in  general  deserved  praise  rather  than  censure,  and  that 
his  character  will  be  always  venerated  in  this  country, 
which  was  essentially  benefitted  by  his  services. 

The  next  session  was  memorable  for  the  first  discussion 
in  parliament  on  the  subject  of  the  inhuman  traffic 
-ilyQo  in  slaves.  Mr.  Wilberforce,  who  had  announced 
his  intention  of  moving  for  the  abolition  of  that 
abominable  trade,  was  unavoidably  absent  from  indisposi- 
tion ;  but,  at  the  suggestion  of  sir  William  Dolben,  some 
regulations  were  enacted  for  restraining  the  cruelties  prac- 
tised on  board  the  slave-ships. 

The  same  year  being  the  centenary  of  the  glorious  revo- 
lution of  1688,  the  5th  of  November,  the  day  of  king  Wil- 
liam's landing,  was  celebrated  by  rejoicings  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom. 

Soon  after  the  recess  of  parliament,  the  king,  who  had 
been  rather  indisposed,  was  advised  to  try  the  mineral  wa- 
ters of  Cheltenham,  where  he  appeared  to  recover  his 
health  ;  but  on  his  return  to  London,  late  in  the  summer, 
his  illness  returned  with  new  and  alarming  symptoms;  and 
it  could  no  longer  be  concealed,  but  that  the  malady  with 
which  he  was  afflicted  was  a  mental  derangement,  that 
rendered  him  wholly  incapable  of  public  business. 

It  now  became  necessary  to  appoint  a  regent  to  exercise 
the  royal  functions  till  the  health  of  his  majesty  should  be 
restored  ;  and  Mr.  Fox  claimed  this  high  office  in  the 
name,  and  on  the  behalf  of  the  heir-apparent,  as  apper- 
taining to  his  royal  highness  of  right.  On  the  other  hand, 
Mr.  Pitt  and  his  adherents,  who  formed  by  far  the  most 
numerous  body,  both  in  and  out  of  parliament,  maintained, 
that  the  heir  to  the  crown  was  merely  a  subject ;  that  it 


GEORGE  III.  431 

was  little  short  of  treason  against  the  constitution  to  urge 
his  right  to  the  regency,  and  that  it  belonged  entirely  to 
the  two  remaining  branches  of  the  legislature  to  supply  the 
temporary  deficiency. 

Long  and  violent  debates  ensued  in  parliament,  on  the 
restraints  under  which  the  minister  thought  it  necessary  to 
subject  the  prince  of  Wales,  as  regent,  in  the  exercise  of 
his  authority.     At  last,  the  regency  bill  was  about  to  pass,* 
when  to  the  unspeakable  joy  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  of 
every  member  of  his  august  family,  his  majesty, 
on  the  tenth  of  March,  sent  a  message  to  parlia-  ^oq 
ment,  to  acquaint  them  with  his  recoveiy,  and  his 
ability  to  attend  to  the  public  business  of  the  kingdom. 
These  tidings  diffused  an  universal  and  heartfelt  satisfac- 
tion.    Every  town,  every  village,  exhibited  its  testimonies 
of  loyalty  and  affection  to  the  best  of  sovereigns  at  the  in- 
stant ;  and  these  renewed  on  the  twenty- third  of  April, 
when  his  majesty,  in  solemn  procession,  went  to  St.  Paul's 
cathedral,  to  return  thanks  to  Heaven  for  his  recovery. 

In  the  month  of  July  in  this  year,  one  of  the  most  un- 
expected and  extraordinary  revolutions  took  place  in 
France  that  the  annals  of  history  record.  The  deranged 
state  of  the  finances  of  France,  and  the  mild  disposition 
and  moderate  principles  of  Louis  XVI.,  the  reigning  sove- 
reign, inducing  him  to  assemble  the  notables  of  his  king- 
dom, an  opportunity  was  taken  to  subvert  the  monarchy, 
and  to  reduce  the  king  to  a  state  of  degradation,  which 
prevented  him  not  only  from  doing  wrong,  but  from  ren- 
dering any  essential  service  to  the  state.  The  bastile, 
which  had  long  been  used  for  the  most  despotic  purposes, 
was  suddenly  levelled  to  the  ground,  and  the  prisoners 
liberated ;  while  a  national  assembly,  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple, wrested  from  the  king  the  privilege  of  making  war  or 
peace,  and  abolished  all  titles  of  peerage  and  distinction 
of  orders.  The  frame  of  government  was  entirely  chan- 
ged, and  a  limited  hereditary  monarchy  was  established,  in 
which  the  legislative  authority  was  rendered  superior  to 
the  executive,  the  latter  being  allowed  only  a  suspensive 
vote.  The  person  of  the  king  was  declared  inviolabLe, 
and  the  throne  indivisible. 

*  The  parliament  of  Ireland  invited  the  prince  of  Wales  to  ac- 
cept the  regency  without  any  limitation,  while  the  British  legisla- 
ture imposed  many  restrictions. 


432  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND* 

Some  British  adventurers  having  established  a  settle- 
ment at  Nootka  or  King's  Sound,*  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  natives  for 
furs,  the  Spaniards,  who  claimed  the  exclusive  sove- 
ryqn  reigntv  °f tms  coast,  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  sixti- 
eth degree  of  north  latitude,  seized  on  the  fort,  and 
captured  such  English  vessels  as  were  found  trading  in 
those  parts.  This  conduct  produced  remonstrances  to  the 
court  of  Spain  ;  but  the  Spaniards  being  unwilling  to  make 
any  atonement  for  the  act  of  violence  of  which  they  had 
been  guilty,  both  nations  prepared  for  war.  The  matter, 
however,  was  at  last  settled  by  a  convention,  by  which  Spain 
conceded  every  point  in  dispute,  though  the  Spanish  flag 
at  the  fort  and  settlement  of  Nootka  was  never  struck. 

By  an  act  passed  in  the  next  session  of  parliament,  Ca- 
nada was  divided  into  two  distinct  governments,  to  each 
of  which  a  legislative  council  and  assembly  were  appointed, 
after  the  model  of  the  British  constitution.  The  councils 
were  nominated  by  the  sovereign,  and  the  houses  of  assem- 
bly were  chosen  by  the  people.  The  habeas  corpus  act 
became  a  fundamental  law  of  the  constitution  of  Canada ; 
and  the  British  parliament  were  restrained  from  imposing 
any  other  taxes  than  such  as  were  necessary  for  the  regu- 
lation of  trade  and  commerce.  This  wise  and  salutary 
measure  has  been  productive  of  the  best  effects,  and  will 
probably  secure  the  dependence  of  that  province  on  Great 
Britain,  by  the  strong  tie  of  gratitude  and  interest. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  England  was  nearly  involved 
in  hostilities  with  Russia.  That  power,  leagued  with 
Austria,  had  for  some  time  carried  on  a  war  against  the 
Turks.  The  Germans,  however,  were  very  unsuccessful 
in  this  unjust  warfare;  but  the  Russians  defeated  the 
Turks  in  every  battle,  and  took  from  them  several  strong 
places,  particularly  Oczakow  and  Ismael.  At  the  latter, 
the  Turks  made  a  gallant  resistance  ;  but  the  savage  Su- 
warroff,  who  commanded  the  Russians,  caused  about  thirty 
thousand  of  the  inhabitants  to  be  put  to  death,  and  thus 
fixed  an  indelible  stain  on  his  character. 

These  successes,  and  the  cruelties  which  accompanied 
them,  alarmed  the  British  court,  and  a  large  fleet  was  fit- 

*  First  discovered  by  captain  Cook,  in  his  last  voyage  round  the 
world. 


GEORGE  III.  433 

ted  out,  in  order  to  prevent  Russia  from  obtaining  the  na- 
vigation of  the  Black  Sea ;  but  the  majorities  which  the 
minister  was  able  to  command  in  parliament  on  this  occa- 
sion, being  very  inconsiderable,  and  the  popular  voice  be- 
ing decidedly  against  the  policy  of  going  to  war  with  Rus- 
sia, the  armament  was  laid  aside,  after  an  enormous  ex- 
pense had  been  incurred,  and  the  Porte  concluded  a  peace 
with  the  czarina  on  her  own  terms.  In  justice,  however, 
to  administration,  it  should  be  observed,  that  the  measures 
which  they  adopted  on  this  occasion  were  founded  in  wis- 
dom and  sound  policy ;  and  that,  if  their  designs  had  not 
been  counteracted  by  the  violence  of  faction  in  parliament, 
whose  sentiments  prevailed  among  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  it  seems  probable  the  partition  of  Poland,  and 
other  encroachments  and  revolutions  which  followed, 
might  have  been  prevented. 

The  events  which  had  taken  place  in  France  had  exci- 
ted much  interest  in  this  country,  and  provoked  discussions 
which  occasioned  the  supporters  of  the  French  revolution 
to  be  regarded  as  inimical  to  the  British  constitution,  while 
the  opponents  of  that  measure  were  considered  as  the 
faithful  guardians  and  defenders  of  our  excellent  estab- 
lishment in  church  and  state.  It  was,  indeed,  natural 
that  the  dawn  of  liberty  in  a  country  long  enslaved, 
should  be  hailed  with  joy  by  the  generous  sympathy  of 
Britons,  who  had  long  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty ;  but  it  was  not  to  be  expected,  that  the 
anarchy  and  violence  which  prevailed  in  France  would 
have  been  regarded  with  any  other  feelings  than  those  of 
detestation  and  abhorrence,  and  that  the  friends  of  the 
British  constitution  would  have  evinced  their  approbation 
of  principles,  which  they  saw  perverted,  and  applied  to  the 
most  dangerous  purposes. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  14th  of  July,  the  day  on  which 
the  bastile  had  been  demolished,  the  partisans  of 
liberty  in  this  country  agreed  to  celebrate  that  event  i^qi 
by  festive  meetings  in  several  of  the  principal  towns 
and  cities  of  the  kingdom.     This  was  certainly  an  act  of 
indiscretion,  as  the  French  revolution  had  incurred  great 
odium  by  the  events  which  had  lately  taken  place  in  France, 
and  as  the  spirit  of  party  prevailed  in  a  most  violent  degree 
at  this  time  in  England.     In  Birmingham,  where  great 
animosity  had  long  subsisted  between  the  high-church 
37 


434  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

party  and  the  dissenters,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  the 
justly  celebrated  philosopher,  Dr.  Priestley,  the  meeting 
was  attended  with  the  most  lamentable  consequences. 
The  persons  who  there  assembled  to  commemorate  the 
French  revolution,  were  insulted  by  a  furious  mob,  who 
shouted  "  church  and  king,"  and  who  broke  the  windows 
of  the  hot4el  in  which  the  company  were  assembled.  In- 
cited and  inflamed  by  their  leaders,  the  mob  dispersed  over 
the  town  and  its  vicinity,  set  on  fire  the  meeting-houses, 
and  the  dwellings  of  the  most  eminent  dissenters,  and 
giving  a  loose  to  every  kind  of  intemperance,  became 
equally  formidable  to  both  parties.  The  mansion  of  Dr. 
Priestley  was  consumed,  with  his  valuable  library  and  phi- 
losophical apparatus;  and  thus  a  man,  whose  talents 
would  have  been  an  honour  to  any  country,  was  treated 
by  these  Vandals  as  a  foe  to  the  human  race,  and  ulti- 
mately obliged  to  take  shelter  in  America.  No  effectual 
effort  was  employed  to  check  these  infamous  and  disgrace- 
ful proceedings,  till  the  arrival  of  some  troops  of  dragoons 
from  Nottingham,  when,  after  four  days  of  tumult  and  der 
vastation,  order  and  tranquility  were  restored.  Many  of 
the  rioters  were  brought  to  trial,  and  three  of  them  capi- 
tally punished. 

In  the  East  Indies,  earl  Cornwallis,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed govern  or- general  of  Bengal,  carried  on  with  equal 
conduct  and  good  fortune  the  war  against  Tippoo  Saib,  in 
which  this  country  had  been  involved  by  the  intrigues  of 
the  French.  After  overcoming  all  impediments,  he  form- 
ed the  siege  of  Seringapatam,  the  capital  of  Mysore,  and 
obliged  Tippoo  to  conclude  a  peace  on  the  terms  offered 
to  him,  and  to  give  his  two  sons  as  hostages  for  the  per- 
formance of  its  conditions. 

When  parliament  met,  Mr.  Pitt,  to  the  agreeable  sur- 
prise of  the  nation,  proved  that  the  finances  were  in  such 
a  flourishing  state,  that  government  would  be  ena- 
17Q2  ^led  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the  people,  by  taking 
off  taxes  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a  year,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  appropriate  dou- 
ble that  sum  for  the  reduction  of  the  national  debt.     He 
also  observed,  that  the  general  state  of  affairs  in  Europe 
promised  a  continuance  of  peace,  and  that  he  expected  an 
immediate  reduction  of  the  naral  and  military  establish- 


GEORGE   HI.  435 

ment.     These  brilliant  prospects,  however,  were  obscured 
before  the  conclusion  of  the  year. 

The  continental  powers,  jealous  of  the  principles  which 
had  been  developed  in  the  French  revolution,  held  a  secret 
convention  at  Pilnitz,  in  Lusatia,  where  it  was  determined 
to  prepare  for  war  against  France.  The  haughty  demands 
of  restitution  urged  by  the  emperor,  left  no  other  alterna- 
tive to  the  French  people  than  to  declare  war  against  Aus- 
tria ;  and  Prussia  joining  against  France,  it  was  evident 
that  Great  Britain  could  not  long  be  kept  out  of  the  vor- 
tex. The  combined  armies  of  Austria  and  Prussia  enter- 
ed France  under  the  duke  of  Brunswick,  accompanied  by 
the  Prussian  monarch  in  person  ;  and,  under  the  sanction 
of  the  two  courts,  was  issued  a  proclamation,  which  de- 
nounced the  most  dreadful  vengeance  against  the  French 
,  nation,  and  threatened  to  punish  as  rebels  to  their  king, 
and  destroyers  of  the  public  tranquility,  all  such  as  were 
found  in  arms  against  the  troops  of  the  allied  powers. 

This  savage  and  impolitic  manifesto,  which  seemed  pur- 
posely calculated  to  complete  the  ruin  of  the  French  king, 
filled  up  the  measure  of  the  popular  fury.     The  palace  of 
the  Thuilleries  was  attacked  by  the  Parisian  populace ; 
and,  being  resolutely  defended  by  the  Swiss  guards,    j 
a  most  bloody  conflict  ensued,  which  terminated  in     -  J>' 
the  total  defeat  and  destruction  of  the  guards,  and   |7C^> 
the  complete  triumph  of  the  Parisians.     The  king, 
with  the  queen,  at  the  commencement  of  the  engagement, 
had  made  a  precipitate  retreat  to  the  hall  of  the  national 
assembly,  and  that  unfeeling  body  committed  them  close 
prisoners  to  the  temple.     Soon  after,  Louis  XVI.  was  for- 
mally deposed,  and  the  abolition  of  royalty  in  France  de- 
creed by  the  national  convention.     Massacres,  unparallel- 
ed in  the  annals  of  civilized  nations,  were  perpetrated  un- 
der the  sacred  name  of  liberty.     The  prisons  were  forced 
open  ;  and  all  those  murdered,  who  had  h^en  con-    « 
fined  for  imputed  sentiments  of  royalty.     In  short,     i 
the  party  which  had  usurped  all  power  in  France, 
were  guilty  of  atrocities,  which,  to  relate  in  simple  terms, 
would  turn  humanity  pale.     On  this  occasion,  the  princess 
Lamballe  was  one  of  the  many  victims  to  their  infernal 
vengeance ;  and  her  fate  was  attended  with  such  circum- 
stances of  horror  as  could  scarcely  enter  into  the  imagina- 
tion of  man.    v 


436  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

After  the  deposition  of  Louis,  our  ambassador  was  re- 
called from  Paris;  and  though  Chauvelin,  the  French 
ambassador,  still  remained  in  London,  he  was  not  acknow- 
ledged in  any  official  capacity.  Not  only  were  the  Aus- 
trian and  Prussian  armies  compelled  to  evacuate  France, 
but  the  French  general  Dumourier  overran  the  Low  Coun- 
tries in  a  series  of  triumphs ;  and,  before  the  year  had 
closed,  the  whole  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands,  with  the 
exception  of  T^uxemburgh  and  Liege,  had  submitted  to  the 
arms  of  the  republican  invaders.  In  the  exultation  occa- 
sioned by  these  successes,  the  convention  passed  their 
famous  decree,  offering  fraternity  and  assistance  to  all  na- 
tions engaged  in  a  struggle  for  liberty ;  and,  on  the  capture 
of  Antwerp,  they  declared  the  navigation  of  the  Scheldt 
free,  which  this  country  was  bound  by  treaty  to  resist. 

These  decrees  were  justly  obnoxious  to  the  British  mi- 
nistry, as  encouraging  sedition  and  revolt  in  every  mo- 
narchical government,  and  treating  with  contempt  the 
rights  of  neutral  nations.  A  royal  proclamation  appear- 
ed, in  which  it  was  declared,  that  evil  disposed  persons  in 
this  country  were  acting  in  concert  with  others  in  foreign 
parts,  in  order  to  subvert  the  laws  and  constitution ;  and 
avowing  his  majesty's  design  of  forthwith  embodying  a 
part  of  the  militia.  Considerable  alarm  was  spread  through 
the  sound  part  of  the  nation,  of  which  description  the  ma- 
jority was  immense ;  and  both  public  bodies  and  private 
individuals  testified  their  zeal  for  preserving  the  public 
peace,  and  supporting  the  constitution  of  their  country. 
Numerous  associations  were  formed  against  republicans 
and  levellers ;  loyal  addresses  poured  in  from  all  parts ; 
and  the  pulpit  and  the  press  were  alike  employed  in  re- 
commending social  order,  and  in  disseminating  those  prin- 
ciples which  had  raised  Britain  to  a  state  of  unexampled 
political  happiness. 

When  the  parliament  met,  the  infamous  fraternizing  de- 
cree of  France  having  excited  just  alarm  and  indignation, 
a  bill  was  passed,  by  which  his  majesty  should  be  empow- 
ered to  order  aliens  to  quit  the  kingdom,  as  circumstances 
might  justify  or  policy  require.  It  was  now  sufficiently 
evident,  that  hostilities  between  Great  Britain  and  France 
would  not  be  long  deferred. 

k  sentiment  of  horror  pervaded  the  nation,  when  intel- 
ligence was  received  of  the  condemnation  and  public  exe- 


GEORGE   III.  437 

eution  of  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  the  mildest  and 
most  inoffensive  of  a  long  line  of  kings,  who  suffer-  .  1^ 
ed  death,  by  the  punishment  of  the  guillotine,  on  the 
21st  of  January.     The  parliament  being  sitting,  advantage 
was  taken  of  the  sensation  which  this  melancholy  event 
produced,  to  unite  all  parties  in  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  a 
war,  for  which  preparations  had  long  been  making.    Chau- 
velin,  the  accredited  minister  of  Louis  XVI.,  was  ordered 
to  quit  the  kingdom ;  and  the  French  republic,  regarding 
his  dismission  as  a  direct  act  of  hostility,  declared  war 
against  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  prince  of  Orange, 
as  stadtholder  of  the  United  Provinces. 

The  necessity  of  this  war,  which  was  actively  underta- 
ken by  this  country  without  any  formal  declaration,  was 
warmly  disputed  in  parliament ;  and  it  was  affirmed  that 
hostilities  with  France,  on  the  grounds  alleged  by  minis- 
ters, were  neither  for  the  honour  nor  the  interest  of  Great 
Britain.  The  English  troops,  under  the  command  of  the 
duke  of  York,  having  joined  those  of  Austria  and  Prussia, 
the  combined  armies  defeated  the  French  generals,  Va- 
lence, Miranda,  Dumourier,  and  Dampierre,  and  took  the 
cities  of  Valenciennes,  Conde,  Mentz,  and  Quesnoy.  It 
was  resolved  in  a  council  of  war,  that  the  British,  Hanove- 
rians, and  Dutch,  should  separate  from  the  main  army,  and 
attack  West  Flanders.  Accordingly,  the  British  forces  un- 
der the  duke  of  York  made  an  attempt  on  Dunkirk ;  but 
the  English  army  was  compelled  to  retreat  with  the  los* 
of  all  its  heavy  artillery. 

Meanwhile,  the  fury  of  the  jacobins  in  France  roused 
the  people  in  several  provinces  to  resistance ;  and  lord 
Hood  being  cruising  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  inhabitants 
of  Toulon  entered  into  a  negotiation  with  him,  and  deli- 
vered into  his  possession  the  town  and  the  shipping;  but 
the  republicans,  collecting  a  large  irregular  force,  attacked 
the  place  with  such  impetuosity,  that  the  English  were 
obliged  to  withdraw,  after  destroying  nine  of  the  enemy's 
ships  of  the  line  and  some  frigates. 

Though  this  campaign  was  on  the  whole  successful  on 
the  side  of  the  allies,  yet  its  termination  was  by  no  means 
equally  auspicious  as  its  commencement.  They  had  pre- 
served Holland  and  recovered  the  Netherlands ;  but  the 
tide  of  success  was  now  turned  against  the  confederates, 
37* 


438  HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 

who,  acting  without  any  regularly  concerted  plan,  showed 
alternate  vigour  and  irresolution. 

At  home,  revolutionary  doctrines  were  industriously 
propagated,  and  seditious  societies  formed ;  and  several 
persons  of  talents,  who  had  lent  their  aid  in  promoting 
schemes  dangerous  to  the  constitution,  were  arrested  and 
brought  to  trial.  By  the  severity  of  the  laws  of  Scotland, 
some  of  them,  being  convicted  of  sedition  in  that  country, 
were  sentenced  to  be  transported  to  Botany  Bay,  which 
was  accordingly  carried  into  execution ;  but  in  England, 
the  promoters  of  disorder  and  confusion,  who  had  been 
indicted  for  high  treason,  were  all  eventually  acquitted. 
The  merits  of  the  judgments  on  the  delinquents  in  Scot- 
land afterwards  underwent  a  discussion  in  parliament. 

A  message  from  the  king  to  both  houses  of  parliament 
announced  the  avowed  intentions  of  the  enemy  to  invade 
this  country.     A  great  augmentation  of  the  militia,, 
17Q1  an^  an  Edition  of  volunteer  fensible  corps,  were 
accordingly  voted.     The  ardour  with  which  young 
men  of  all  ranks  entered  into  these  military  associations, 
for  the  purpose  of  defending  their  country,  equally  damped 
the  resolution  of  domestic  traitors  and  foreign  foes ;  and 
the  preparations  which  had  been  made  for  invading  Eng- 
land began  to  slacken,  and  were  at  last  wholly  discon- 
tinued. 

On  the  continent,  the  arms  of  the  allies,  from  a  want  of 
cordial  co-operation,  had  experienced  many  reverses ;  but 
the  English  were  consoled  by  the  splendid  naval  victory 
obtained  by  lord  Howe  over  the  French  fleet,  which  had 
j  I  ventured  from  Brest  harbour,  for  the  purpose  of 
1T7QA  'Protectulg  a  large  convoy  from  America.  In  this 
action,  which  was  ^warmly  contested,  the  French 
suffered  a  total  defeat,  with  the  loss  of  six  ships  of  the 
line  taken,  and  one  sunk.  The  French  fleet  consisted  of 
twenty-six  sail  of  the  line,  and  the  English  of  twenty-five. 
In  the  West  Indies,  Martinico,  St.  Lucia,  and  Guada- 
loupe,  were  successively  captured ;  and  in  the  East,  Pon- 
dicherry,  Chandernagore,  and  Mahie,  fell  under  the  power 
of  the  English.  In  short,  signal  as  had  been  the  disasters 
of  the  allied  armies  on  the  continent,  in  almost  every  en- 
terprise in  which  the  British  were  singly  engaged,  they 
were  completely  successful. 

An  accession  was  made  to  the  British  empire  by  the  an-; 


GEORGE   III.  439 

nexation  of  Corsica  to  the  crown  of  England ;  but  policy, 
or  necessity,  in  a  short  time  compelled  this  country  to 
abandon  an  island,  which  would  ever  have  been  attended 
with  more  expense  than  advantage. 

When  the  victories  of  the  French  in  the  Netherlands 
had  removed  their  apprehensions  from  foreign  enemies, 
their  attention  was  directed  to  internal  tyranny.  After  the 
jacobins  had  triumphed  over  the  girondists,  they  were 
themselves  divided- into  two  parties.  Those  called  the 
faction  of  the  cordeliers,  being  opposed  to  the  views  of  Ro- 
bespierre, who  had  made  rapid  strides  to  single  despotism, 
were  arrested  by  his  orders,  and  put  to  death.  The  French 
people,  however,  no  sooner  considered  the  atrocities  of 
which  Robespierre  had  been  guilty,  than  a  powerful  party 
was  formed  against  him  ;  and  the  fall  of  the  tyrant  put  an 
end  to  the  reign  of  terror  in  France  ;  but  under  every  suc- 
cessive faction,  the  arms  of  the  republic  prevailed  on  the 
continent,  and  at  once  Germany,  Spain,  and  Italy,  felt 
their  irresistible  force.  The  united  provinces  were  speedily 
overrun  by  a  French  army  ;  and  the  Stadtholder,  with  his 
family,  sought  refuge  in  England. 

In  this  year,  Poland,  overwhelmed  by  a  foreign  des- 
potism, was  blotted  out  from  the  number  of  European  king- 
doms, and  its  territories  were  divided  between  Prussia, 
Austria,  and  Russia,  the  three  powers  that  conspired  and 
effected  its  ruin. 

The  splendid  successes  of  the  French  in  the  last  cam- 
paign, had  disposed  most  of  the  neighbouring  pow- 
ers to  acknowledge  the  republic.  Prussia  and  ^qr 
Spain  concluded  a  treaty  with  France  ;  and  Hoi-  l 
land,  being  fraternized  by  the  French,  the  Dutch,  from 
long  treacherous  friends,  became  the  open  enemies  of  this 
country.  Warm  debates  took  place  in  the  British  parlia- 
ment on  the  subject  of  peace ;  but  the  warlike  proposals 
of  ministers  were  still  supported  by  great  majorities.  At 
this  period  of  the  contest,  the  nation  seemed  weary  and 
dispirited  ;  but  another  victory  by  sea,  gained  by  lord  Brid- 
port,  off  port  TOrient,  tended  to  encourage  the  people,  and 
to  convince  them  that  they  were  invulnerable  on  their  na- 
tive element.  The  engagement  began  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  continued  till  three  in  the  afternoon,  by  which 
time  three  ships  of  the  line  had  struck  their  colours.    The 


440  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

rest  of  the  French  squadron,  keeping  close  in  shore,  es- 
caped into  l'Orient. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  his  royal  highness  the  prince 
of  Wales  contracted  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  his  cou- 
sin, the  princess  Caroline  Amelia,  daughter  of  the  duke 
of  Brunswick.  This  marriage,  which  gave  great  joy  to 
the  people,  eventually  proved  a  source  of  much  domestic 
misery  and  national  inquietude.  In  the  following  year, 
the  princess  gave  birth  to  a  daughter ;  and,  soon  after,  a 
formal  separation  of  the  parents  took  place. 

Various  circumstances  had  inspired  the  English  people 
with  a  spirit  of  discontent.  The  cruel  and  illegal  practices 
of  crimps  for  the  recruiting  service  had  occasioned  severa 
violent  tumults ;  and  the  increasing  scarcity  of  provisions 
aggravated  the  public  ill-humour.  The  reforming  socie- 
ties began  to  act  with  great  boldness  ;  and  that  denomina- 
ted the  Corresponding  Society  held  several  public  meet- 
ings, one  of  which,  in  the  fields  near  Copenhagen  House, 
was  computed  to  be  attended  by  fifty  thousand  persons, 
and  was  distinguished  by  the  daring  addresses  made  to  the 
people.  On  the  first  day  of  the  meeting  of  parliament,  hi* 
majesty  was  grossly  insulted  in  passing  to  the  house  oi 
lords  by  a  furious  mob,  who  clamorously  demanded  peace, 
and  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Pitt. 

In  consequence  of  this  outrage,  two  bills  passed  both 
houses  of  parliament ;  one  for  the  better  security  of  his 
majesty's  person,  by  extending  the  laws  of  treason  :  the 
other,  for  the  prevention  of  seditious  meetings.  These  bills, 
however,  did  not  pass  without  strong  opposition. 

This  year,  that  valuable  settlement,  the  Cape  of  Gooc 
Hope,  and  part  of  Ceylon,  were  wrested  from  the  Dutch 
but  an  expedition  to  Quiberon,  in  which  were  embarkec 
about  three  thousand  French  emigrants,  entirely  failed. 

An  overture  was  made  by  the  British  government  to  ne- 
gotiate a  peace  with  France ;  but  it  was  so  captiously,  not 
to  say  insolently  received,  that  it  was  impossible  to  take 
any  farther  steps  for  the  attainment  of  this  object.  The 
truth  seems  to  be,  that  the  two  governments  were  less  in- 
clined to  a  pacification  than  the  people,  who  were  anxious 
to  be  relieved  from  a  war,  the  evils  of  which  were  severely 
felt,  and  the  eventual  advantages  of  which  they  did  not 
comprehend,  or  did  not  think  sufficient  to  compensate  the 
.  pressures  under  which  they  laboured. 


GEORGE  III.  441 

During  the  last  campaign,  the  French  had  been  less 
successful  than  in  the  former  year ;  but  the  directory  made 
vigorous  preparations  for  placing  the  numerous  armies  of 
the  republic  in  a  most  formidable  posture  ;  and  the  success 
of  the  French  arms  was  not  surpassed  in  any  former  pe- 
riod. In  Italy,  the  republican  troops  were  com- 
*'~qA  manded  by  general  Bonaparte,*  whose  advance 
into  that  country  was  an  almost  uninterrupted  ca- 
reer of  victory.  He  defeated  the  imperialists  at  Lodi,  and 
compelled  nearly  the  whole  of  Italy  to  sue  for  peace.  In 
Germany,  too,  the  campaign  began  successfully  on  the 
side  of  the  French ;  and  generals  Moreau  and  Jourdan 
penetrated  to  the  very  heart  of  the  empire  ;  but  they  were 
afterwards  repelled  by  the  archduke  Charles,  who  drove 
back  the  invaders. 

Hence  the  love  of  peace  became  more  and  more  felt  by 
the  British  and  the  Austrians,  who  now  alone  remained  of 
the  grand  confederacy  which  had  been  formed  against 
France ;  but  in  proportion  as  the  enemy  was  successful, 
he  increased  his'  demands,  and  refused  to  listen  to  equal 
terms  of  accommodation.  To  evince  the  sincerity  of  their 
desire  for  peace,  the  British  ministry  sent  lord  Malmesbury 
as  plenipotentiary  to  Paris,  to  open  a  negotiation  with  the 
French  republic.  A  mutual  restitution  of  conquests  was 
the  basis  on  which  his  lordship  was  empowered  to  treat ; 
but  the  French  refusing  to  restore  the  Netherlands,  ordered 
lord  Malmesbury  to  quit  Paris  in  forty-eight  hours,  and 
the  French  territory  with  as  much  expedition  as  possible. 
Whether  either  of  the  two  governments  was  really  desirous 
of  peace  at  this  time,  seems  very  doubtful. 

At  the  close  of  this  year,  the  French,  encouraged  by  re- 
ports of  disaffection  in  Ireland,  attempted,  with  thirteen 
ships  of  the  line,  and  a  large  body  of  troops,  to  make  a 
descent  at  Bantry-bay ;  but  the  winds  dispersing  the  ar- 
mament, the  commander-in-chief,  who  had  arrived  at  his 

*  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  a  native  of  Corsica,  where  he  was 
born  in  1769.  With  the  most  intrepid  courage,  and  an  aspiring  am- 
bition, he  possessed  talents  of  the  first,  order,  which  raised  him  to  the 
summit  of  power  in  France,  and  rendered  him  formidable  to  all  the 
neighbouring  nations.  After  seating  himself  on  the  throne  of  the 
Bourbons,  the  whole  of  Europe,  with  the  exception  of  Great  Britain, 
submitted  to  the  will  of  this  wonderful  man; 


442  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

place  of  destination,  returned  to  Brest  with  the  loss  of  one 
ship  of  the  line  and  two  frigates. 

In  Saldanna  bay,  a  Dutch  fleet  of  seven  sail  of  the  line, 
which  had  sailed  in  hopes  of  retaking  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  was  captured  by  admiral  Elphinstone ;  and  thus 
ended  a  campaign,  in  which  Britain  was  uniformly  suc- 
cessful on  her  own  element. 

The  aspect  of  affairs,  however,  was  gloomy  and 
dismal.     The  rapid  and  enormous  increase  of  the  1707 
national  debt  had  created  an  alarm  among  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  public  funds  ;  and  the  bank  having  advan- 
ced immense  and  extraordinary  sums  to  government,  it 
was  found  expedient  to  stop  the  payment  in  specie.     This 
strong  measure,  w hich  necessity  alone  could  justify,  caus- 
ed a  great  sensation  ;  but  it  appearing  that  the  bank  had 
still  a  great  surplus  property,  confidence  was  restored  ;  and 
the  notes  of  the  bank   passed   as  freely  as  ever,  though 
the  prohibition  of  payment  in  cash  was  ordered  to  be  con- 
tinued. 

Scarcely  had  the  public  alarm  from  the  bank  subsided, 
when  other  dangers  occasioned  equal  dread  and  conster- 
nation. A  serious  mutiny  broke  out  among  the  seamen  of 
the  channel  fleet  lying  at  Spithead  ;  but  on  obtaining  an, 
increase  of  pay,  which  the  circumstances  of  the  times  and 
their  own  merits  rendered  necessary,  order  and  discipline 
were  speedily  re-established. 

It  was  hoped,  that  the  concessions  of  government  would I 
have  prevented  any  fresh  insurrection  ;  but  a  mutiny  broke 
out  at  the  Nore,  much  more  outrageous  and  full  of  danger. 
New  and  extravagant  demands  were  dictated  to  the  Admi- 
ralty, delegates  were  chosen  to  conduct  the  meeting,  and 
one  Richard  Parker  was  appointed  admiral  of  the  muti- 
nous fleet.  The  firmness  of  government,  however,  and 
the  enactment  of  two  bills,  denouncing  death  against  all 
who  should  seduce  any  of  his  majesty's  seamen  from  their 
duty,  or  hold  any  communication  with  ships  in  a  state  of 
mutiny,  at  length  overawed  those  misguided  men.  The 
red  flag  of  mutiny  was  struck ;  and  many  of  the  ring 
leaders,  among  whom  was  Parker,  suffered  deserved  pun- 
ishment. 

To  these  disgraceful  proceedings  in  the  channel,  the 
successful  bravery  of  our  seamen  against  the  enemy  forms 
a  striking  contrast.  Admiral  sir  John  Jervis,  commanding 


GEORGE   IU.  443 

fifteen  sail  of  the  line,  fell  in  with  a  Spanish  fleet  of  twen- 
ty-seven sail  off  Cape  St.  Vincent ;  and,  after  an  engage- 
ment of  five  hours,  in  which  the  great  superiority  of  Bri- 
tish tactics,  skill,  and  bravery,  was  displayed,  captured 
four  of  the  number.  The  honour  of  a  peerage  was  de 
served ly  bestowed  on  the  gallant  admiral,  with  the  title  of 
earl  St.  Vincent,  in  allusion  to  the  scene  of  this  glorious 
achievement. 

After  this  victory,  rear-admiral  Nelson,  who  had  parti- 
cularly distinguished  himself  in  the  action,  was  sent  with 
a  flotilla  to*  make  a  nocturnal  attack  on  the  town  of  Santa 
Cruz,  in  the  island  of  Teneriffe.  This  attempt,  however, 
was  unsuccessful ;  the  gallant  admiral  lost  an  arm ;  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  either  killed  or  wounded 
in  the  assault. 

Admiral  Duncan,  who  had  long  been  engaged  in 
blocking  up  the  Dutch  fleet  in  the  Texel,  having  ^q^ 
returned  to  England  to  refit,  the  enemy  ventured  * 

to  sea.  Duncan  hastily  returning,  disposed  his  squadron 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  Dutch  from  escaping 
without  a  conflict.  The  action  was  extremely  obstinate ; 
but,  at  last,  nine  of  the  largest  ships,  and  two  admirals, 
were  the  trophies  of  British  prowess.  For  this  service,  the 
gallant  admiral  was  raised  to  a  peerage,  by  the  style  and 
title  of  lord  viscount  Duncan,  of  Camperdown,  off  which 
place  this  victory  was  achieved. 

Meanwhile,  the  British  government  attempted  to  renew 
the  negotiation  for  peace ;  and  lord  Malmesbury  was  again 
commissioned  to  proceed  to  Lisle ;  but  the  French  requi- 
ring that  England  should  restore  all  the  possessions  which 
had  been  taken  from  France,  Spain,  and  Holland,  without 
offering  any  compensation  on  the  pa#  of  those  powers,  the 
British  plenipotentiary  found  it  necessary  to  return. 

About  this  time,  however,  the  Austrians  being  com- 
pletely discomfited  in  Italy,  the  emperor  was  induced  to 
sign  a  definitive  treaty  with  the  French  republic,  at  Campo 
Formio;  and  thus  Great  Britain  was  left  singly  to  combat 
with  an  enemy,  strengthened  by  a  large  accession  of  ter- 
ritory and  population,  after  all  the  other  powers  had  been 
successively  withdrawn,  or  intimidated  from  our  alliance. 

Ireland,  which  hadlong  been  agitated  by  foreign 
and  domestic  enemies,  became  this  year  the  scene  |L^ 
of  an  unnatural  rebellion.     The  United  Irishmen, 


444  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

who  had  formed  a  conspiracy  against  government,  J>eing 
disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  receiving  assistance 
from  France,  prepared  for  an  extensive  insurrection,  with- 
out waiting  for  a  co-operation  from  the  continent.  Stimu- 
lated by  some  persons  of  rank  and  consequence  among 
them,  they  were  guilty  of  the  most  savage  atrocities;  and 
a  few  of  the  principal  traitors  being  themselves  betrayed, 
their  wretched  adherents,  finding  concealment  no  longer 
possible,  broke  out  into  open  rebellion. 

It  would  be  painful  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  cru- 
elties and  murders  which  were  perpetrated  in  that  unhap- 
py country.  In  this  unnatural  contest,  in  which  one  part 
af  the  British  empire  warred  with  the  rest,  numbers  of  the 
insurgents  fell ;  while  the  survivors  of  the  United  Irishmen 
wreaked  their  vengeance  on  the  unhappy  prisoners  that 
fell  into  their  hands. 

At  last  earl  Camden  was  recalled,  and  the  marquis 
Cornwallis,  who,  to  the  highest  personal  character  united 
splendid  military  talents,  was  appointed  to  the  vice-royalty 
of  Ireland.  By  offering  pardon  to  all,  except  to  the  lead-  I 
ers  in  the  rebellion,  he  prevailed  on  the  greatest  part  of  the 
insurgents  to  surrender  their  arms,  and  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  his  majesty ;  and  the  rest  were  defeated  or 
awed  by  the  king's  troops. 

The  French,  with  a  small  body  of  forces,  endeavoured 
to  revive  the  rebellion ;  and,  surprising  our  troops  by  their 
sudden  appearance,  gained  a  temporary  advantage,  but 
were  soon  overpowered  and  captured  by  lord  Cornwallis. 
A  French  squadron  of  one  ship  of  the  line,  and  eight  fri- 
gates, with  troops  and  ammunition  on  board,  destined  for 
Ireland,  was  taken  or  dispersed  by  sir  John  Borlase  War- 
ren ;  and  the  whole  French  equipment,  with  the  exception 
of  two  frigates,  fell  ultimately  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

Meanwhile,  Bonaparte  had  sailed  from  Toulon  with  an 
armament,  consisting  of  thirteen  ships  of  the  line,  six  fri- 
gates, and  transports,  having  on  board  an  army  of  thirty 
thousand  men.  Malta  capitulated  to  this  armament,  by 
the  treachery  of  some  of  the  chiefs  of  that  island ;  and 
steering  its  course  for  Egypt,  the  French  debarked  their 
forces  in  that  country,  which  they  speedily  overran,  not- 
withstanding the  spirited  opposition  of  the  Mamelukes. 

Admiral  Nelson,  who  had  been  detached  by  lord  St. 
Vincent  in  quest  of  the  enemy,  with  thirteen  sail  of  the 


GEORGE   III.  445 

line  and  one  fifty  gun  ship,  found  the  French  fleet  at  an- 
chor in  the  bay  of  Aboukir.  A  severe  and  obsti- 
nate engagement  ensued;  and,  after  a  dreadful  |~qq 
conflict,  a  complete  victory  rewarded  the  skill  and 
gallantry  of  the  British  admiral,  his  officers  and  men. 
Besides  the  French  flag-ship  of  120  guns,  one  74  was 
burnt ;  one  of  80  guns,  and  seven  of  74,  were  captured ; 
two  ships  of  the  line  and  two  frigates  escaped  by  flight, 
but  were  soon  after  taken.  If  Bonaparte  had  not  pos- 
sessed great  talents  and  a  fertile  genius,  this  victory,  which 
deprived  his  army  of  all  communication  with  Europe, 
would  have  completely  paralyzed  the  expedition  to  Egypt, 
For  this  service,  the  admiral  was  created  lord  Nelson  of  the 
Nile,  and  received  a  pension  of  two  thousand  pounds,  be- 
sides other  honours  and  rewards  which  were  bestowed  on 
him  by  some  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe. 

The  grand  seignior  now  declared  war  against  France 
and  Paul,  the  new  emperor  of  Russia,  in  whose  character 
passion  and  frivolity  were  chiefly  predominant,  displayed 
his  detestation  of  French  principles,  and  was  subsidised 
by  England.  The  emperor  of  Germany  also  joined  the 
confederacy  against  France ;  and  the  republic  had  again 
to  contend  with  another  powerful  alliance. 

Meanwhile,  the  assessed  taxes  not  having  proved  so 
productive  as  had  been  expected,  the  minister  had  re- 
course to  a  tax  on  income,  requiring  one  tenth  on  all  in- 
comes exceeding  two  hundred  pounds  a  year. 

A  measure,  however,  which  will  immortalize  the  me- 
mory of  the  premier,  and  deserve  the  lasting  gratitude  of 
both  countries,  was  his  projected  union  with  Ireland; 
which,  after  being  canvassed  with  great  attention  in  Eng- 
land, and  violently  opposed  in  Ireland,  was  at  last  carried 
into  effect,  on  principles  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  real 
interests  of  the  latter  country. 

The  arms  of  Russia  speedily  gave  a  new  turn  to  the  war 
in  Italy  ;  the  English  recovered  Naples  for  its  former  sove- 
reign ;  and  sir  Sidney  Smith,  by  his  bravery  and  able  con- 
duct, repelled  an  invasion  of  Syria,  headed  by  Bonaparte 
himself. 

The  perfidy  and  duplicity  of  Tippoo  Saib  having  occa- 
sioned a  new  war  in  India,  general  Harris,  with 
equal  success  and  ability,  made  himself  master  of  jiv** 
Seringapatam,  in  storming  which  the  tyrant  of  the 
38 


456  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

more  manifest ;  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  at  Fontaine,*- 

bleau  for  the  partition  of  Portugal.     A  French  army  was 

already  on  its  march  to  Lisbon,  when  the  Portuguese  fleet 

^       set  sail  from  the  Tagus,  with  the  prince  regent  and 

2qW'  the  whole  royal  family  on  board,  and  proceeded  to 

ic0'7  Rio  de  Janeiro,  escorted  by  an  English  squadron. 

The  French  army  under  Junot,  already  on  the 

heights  above  Lisbon,  took  possession  of  that  capital,  and 

subjected  the  inhabitants  to  military  law. 

Madeira  was  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  Eng- 
lish ;  and  the  Danish  islands  in  the  West  Indies,  St.  Tho- 
mas, St.  John,  and  St.  Croix,  surrendered  to  a  British 
squadron  under  sir  Alexander  Cochrane. 

The  French  had  obtained  possession  of  the  principal 
fortresses  in  Spain ;  and  the  approach  of  Murat,  with  a 
powerful  army,  to  the  capital,  increased  the  alarm  of  the 
Spanish  people.  Charles  IV.  abdicated  the  crown  in 
favour  of  his  son,  the  prince  of  the  Asturias,  who  com- 
menced his  reign  under  the  title  of  Ferdinand  the  Seventh ; 
but  this  arrangement  did  not  suit  the  policy  of  France, 
and,  the  father  and  son  quarrelling,  Charles  transferred  to 
Napoleon  the  sovereignty  of  Spain,  who,  having  persuaded 
Ferdinand  to  meet  him  at  Bayonne,  compelled  him  to  re- 
nounce the  crown  in  favour  of  his  family.  Charles,  his 
queen,  and  Godoy,  prince  of  peace,  retired  to  Rome ; 
and  Joseph  Bonaparte  was  installed  king  of  Spain 
|qqo  and  the  Indies;  while  Joachim  Murat,  the  bro- 
ther-in-law of  the  French  emperor,  was  made  king 
of  Naples. 

These  transactions,  however,  did  not  take  place  without 
causing  great  commotions  and  much  effusion  of  blood  in 
Spain  ;  and  the  Spanish  people,  exasperated  by  the  cruel- 
ties committed  by  the  French  in  that  country,  declared 
war  against  France,  and  sent  deputies  to  implore  the  as- 
sistance of  England.  This  request  was  readily  granted, 
and  a  force  of  ten  thousand  men  sailed  to  Corunna,  under 
the  command  of  sir  Arthur  Wellesley ;  but  on  communica- 
ting with  the  Spanish  leaders  in  that  district,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  proceed  to  Portugal,  where  the  troops  were  dis- 
embarked in  Mondego  bay.  Junot,  collecting  his  whole 
fone,  attacked  the  British  army  in  a  strong  position  at 
Vimiera ;  but,  after  an  obstinate  contest,  the  French  were 
defeated  with  the  loss  of  between  three  and  four  thousand 


GEORGE  III.  447 

crombie  was  sent  into  Egypt  with  a  powerful  army.  On 
the  21st  of  March,  1801,  that  gallant  veteran  defeated  the 
French  general,  Menou,  with  great  loss,  but  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  action,  and  died  a  few  days  after,  equally 
beloved  and  revered  for  his  private  virtues  as  for  his  mili- 
tary talents.  General  Hutchinson,  who  succeeded  to  the 
command,  completed  the  reduction  of  Egypt. 

Meanwhile,  as  the  union  between  Great  Britain^  and 
Ireland  had  been  fixed  by  the  legislature  to  commence  and 
be  in  force  from  the  first  day  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  imperial  parliament  of  both  islands  met  at 
Westminster,  on  the  22d  of  January.  The  empe-  |  J™,' 
tot  of  Russia  had  not  only  withdrawn  himself  from 
the  confederacy  against  France,  but  listening  to  the  coun- 
sels of  Bonaparte,  had  stimulated  Denmark  and  Sweden 
to  enter  into  an  armed  neutrality  against  this  country. 
When  all  Europe  was  thus  combined  against  Britain,  and 
almost  every  port  shut  against  us,  Mr.  Pitt  and  his  princi- 
pal coadjutors  resigned  their  situations.  The  minister, 
apprehending,  as  has  been  supposed,  that  his  continuance 
in  office  might  prove  an  impediment  to  the  restoration  of 
peace,  or  considering,  as  is  more  probable,  and  has  been 
asserted,  that  his  pledge  to  the  catholics  at  the  time  of  the 
union,  required  either  the  fulfilment  of  his  promise  or  the 
sacrifice  of  Ms  place,  relinquished  all  his  employments. 
Mr.  Addington,  speaker  of  the  house  of  commons,  was  ap- 
pointed first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer;  lord  Hawkesbury,  secretary  of  state  for  the 
foreign  department ;  and  earl  St.  Vincent,  first  lord  of  the 
admiralty. 

The  king  of  Prussia  earnestly  promoted  the  northern 
confederacy,  and  sent  an  army  into  Hanover ;  but  a  Bri- 
tish fleet,  under  admirals  sir  Hyde  Parker  and  lord  Nelson, 
being  despatched  to  open  the  Baltic,  an  engage- 
ment took  place  at  Copenhagen,  which  had  been  *lj?' 
strongly  fortified,  when  the  result  was  a  complete 
victory  on  the  part  of  the  English,  chiefly  obtained  by  the 
intrepid  conduct  of  lord  Nelson.     After  this  bloody  battle, 
an  armistice  was  agreed  on ;  and  the  emperor  Paul  being 
succeeded  by  his  son  Alexander,  the  northern  confederacy 
was  dissolved,  and  peace  was  restored  between  England 
and  the  nations  of  which  it  was  composed. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  regard  to  a  pacification  with 


448  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

France  being  removed  by  the  evacuation  of  Egypt  by  the 
French,  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  on  the  first  of 
October,  to  the  unbounded  joy  of  the  united  kingdom.    The 

terms,  however,  were  far  from  giving  universal  satis- 
1802  facti°n»  anc*  many  saw  in  them  the  seeds  of  a  new 

war  at  no  great  distance  ;  but,  after  various  delays 
and  difficulties,  a  definitive  treaty  was  signed  at  Amiens,  on 

the  27th  of  March  following.     By  this  treaty,  Great 
1802  Britain  restored  to  France  and  her  allies  every 

possession  or  colony  which  she  had  taken  from 
them  during  the  war,  except  the  Spanish  island  of  Trini- 
dad, and  the  Dutch  settlement  of  Ceylon.  Egypt  was  to 
be  restored  to  the  Porte  ;  and  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish 
empire  was  guarantied.  The  French  were  to  evacuate 
the  territories  of  Naples  and  of  Rome.  Malta  was  to  be 
restored  to  its  own  order  of  knights. 

It  was  soon,  however,  evident  that  the  treaty  of  Amiens 
would  not  be  productive  of  any  long  period  of  tranquility. 
The  restless  ambition  of  Bonaparte,  which,  whilst  it  could 
not  suffer  neighbouring  nations  to  repose  in  peace  and  se- 
curity, was  at  last  fatal  to  himself.  No  man,  either  of 
ancient  or  modern  times,  can  be  compared  with  this  ex- 
traordinary person,  who,  as  if  regarding  Europe  as  too 
confined  a  theatre  for  his  ambition,  grasped  at  the  domi- 
nion of  the  whole  world,  and  whose  unparalleled  life  seems 
to  resemble  a  fiction  and  romance,  rather  than  a  history 
of  real  actions. 

His  assumption  of  the  presidency  of  the  Italian  republic, 
and  the  convention  which  he  had  formed  with  Spain,  were 
objects  of  jealousy  to  the  British  government ;  but  the 
subjugation  of  Switzerland  was  a  wanton  aggression,  which 
excited  indignation  in  the  breast  of  every  friend  of  liberty; 
and  the  aims  at  dominion  which  were  every  where  visible, 
withheld  the  English  ministry  from  surrendering  Malta 

unconditionally.    This  produced  a  rupture  between 
lft(?i  tne  tw0  countries»  ana<  war  was  proclaimed  by  Great 

Britain  against  France,  on  the  18th  of  May. 
One  of  the  first  measures  of  Bonaparte,  after  the  renewal 
of  hostilities,  was  to  seize  on  the  electorate  of  Hanover ; 
but  the  invasion  of  England  appeared  at  this  time  the  prin- 
cipal object  which  occupied  his  attention.  A  flotilla  was 
prepared  for  conveying  the  military  hordes  of  France  to 
the  British  shores ;  extensive  camps  were  formed  in  the 


GEORGE    III.  449 

vicinity  of  the  harbours ;  and  the  troops  were  kept  in  con- 
stant readiness  for  embarkation.  Such,  however,  were  the 
exertions  made  to  receive  the  boasted  invaders  of  England, 
that  volunteer  associations  were  every  where  formed ;  men 
of  all  ranks  and  professions,  animated  with  one  common 
feeling  of  indignation,  devoted  a  great  portion  of  their 
time  to  preparations  for  the  defence  of  their  country ;  and 
the  whole  kingdom  presented  the  appearance  of  one  wide 
tented  field. 

The  regular  military  force  of  Great  Britain  was  also 
augmented  beyond  all  former  precedent,  and  stationed  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  while  our  fleets  blockaded 
the  enemy's  ports,  and  confined  their  squadrons  and  flo- 
tillas within  the  protection  of  their  own  batteries. 

Meanwhile,  a  new  insurrection  broke  out  in  Dublin, 
which  occasioned  some  alarm,  but  which  was  speedily  re- 
pressed ;  but  lord  Kilwarden,  and  his  nephew  Mr.  Wolfe, 
unfortunately  passing  at  the  time,  were  dragged  out  of 
their  carriage  by  the  insurgents,  and  barbarously  put  to 
death. 

This  year,  the  French  government  transferred  Louisia- 
na to  the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  sum  of  fifteen 
millions  of  dollars. 

The  majorities  on  the  side  of  ministers  being  greatly 
reduced,  by  the  opposition  of  Mr.  Pitt,  who  had 
hitherto  supported  the  administration,   Mr.   Ad-   |oni 
dington  resigned  the  office  of  chancellor  of  the  ex- 
chequer and  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Pitt.     At  the  same  time,  the  duke  of  Portland  was 
appointed  president  of  the  council ;  and  lord  Eldon  lord 
chancellor. 

Various  attempts  against  the  enemy's  flotilla  on  their 
own  coasts  were  unsuccessful.  The  most  considerable  of 
this  kind,  was  an  undertaking  by  lord  Keith,  with  a  fleet 
of  men  of  war  and  other  ships,  to  destroy  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  French  vessels  moored  on  the  outside  of 
Boulogne  pier.  The  instruments  chiefly  depended  on  for 
this  purpose,  were  certain  exploding  vessels,  called  cata- 
marans, which,  however,  entirely  disappointed  the  expec- 
tations that  had  been  formed. 

Though  Spain  had  not  declared  war  against  Britain, 
yet  the   English  government  considered   that  power  as 
wholly  under  the  control  of  Bonaparte;  and  a  Britisk 
38* 


450  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

squadron  was,  therefore,  sent  to  intercept  the  Spanish  fri- 
gates which  conveyed  specie  from  America  to  Cadiz.  An 
engagement  ensued,  in  which  one  of  the  Spanish  vessels 
blew  up;  and  the  rest,  with  the  treasure,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  English ;,  but  this  act  of  the  British  govern- 
ment can  scarcely  be  considered  otherwise  than  as  a  vio- 
lation of  the  law  of  nations. 

The  aggressions  of  Bonaparte  in  Germany  and  Italy, 
provoked  another  coalition  among  the  European  powers ; 
and  the  "  mighty  army  of  England,"  which  was  said  to 
be  intended  for  the  invasion  of  this  country,  and  which 
had  remained  nearly  two  years  stationary  and  in- 
IftO^  active,   was  withdrawn   from   the   shores   of  the 
channel ;  but  the  fatal  battle  of  Austerlitz  destroy- 
ed the  hopes  of  Russia  and  Austria,  and  compelled  the 
latter  power  to  accept  such  terms  of  accommodation  as 
France  thought  fit  to  dictate. 

Meanwhile,  Goree,  which  had  been  taken  by  the  French, 
was  recaptured ;  and  the  Dutch  settlement  of  Surinam 
capitulated  to  a  force  under  the  command  of  sir  Charles 
Green  and  commodore  Hood.  Bonaparte,  on  whom  the 
people  of  France  had  conferred  the  rank  and  title  of  em- 
peror of  the  French,  made  an  overture  to  the  king,  in 
which  he  expressed  a  wish  for  peace,  and  deprecated  the 
continuance  of  hostilities  as  tending  to  a  useless  effusion 
of  blood.  The  reply  of  the  British  government  declared, 
that  the  king,  though  ardently  desirous  of  peace,  was  con- 
vinced that  this  object  could  be  attained  only  by  arrange- 
ments which  should  provide  for  the  future  safety  and  tran- 
quility of  Europe,  and,  in  consequence,  till  he  had  com- 
^nunicated  with  the  continental  powers  with  whom  he 
was  engaged  in  confidential  relations,  he  felt  it  impossible 
to  give  a  more  particular  answer  to  the  overture. 

The  misfortunes  of  our  allies  on  the  continent  were  in 
some  degree  compensated  by  the  brilliant  success  which 
attended  the  fleets  of  Great  Britain.  A  fleet  of  twelve 
French,  and  six  Spanish  ships  of  the  line,  had  sailed  for 
the  West  Indies,  under  the  command  of  admiral  Ville- 
neuve  ;  and  lord  Nelson,  with  only  eleven  sail  of  the  line, 
pursued  the  French  admiral,  who,  terrified  by  the  intelli- 
gence of  his  approach,  hastened  back  to  Europe,  and, 
near  cape  Finisterre,  was  encountered  by  sir  Robert  Calder, 
who  took  two  of  his  large  ships. 


GEORGE   III.  451 

Soon  after,  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and  Spain, 
amounting  to  thirty-three  sail  of  the  line,  again  sailed  un- 
der the  same  admiral,  with  the  intention  of  giving  battle 
to  lord  Nelson.  The  British  admiral,  however,  had  been 
re-enforced  with  seven  ships,  which  augmented  his  fleet  to 
the  number  of  twenty-seven  sail  of  the  line.  On  the  21st 
of  October,  lord  Nelson,  to  his  great  joy,  descried  the 
mighty  armament  of  the  enemy,  about  seven  miles  east  of 
cape  Trafalgar.  The  last  memorable  signal  of  the  British 
admiral,  "  England  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty," 
was  received  with  acclamations  from  the  whole  fleet. 
About  noon  the  dreadful  contest  began,  by  the  leading 
ships  of  the  British  column  breaking  through  the  enemy's 
line.  In  this  bloody  battle,  lord  Nelson  was  mortally 
wounded  by  a  musket-ball,  fired  from  the  shrouds  of  the 
Redoubtable,  to  which  the  admiral's  ship,  the  Victory,  was 
opposed,  after  having  compelled  Villeneuve  to  strike  his 
flag  on  board  the  Bucentaur.  The  British  hero,  however, 
did  not  close  his  eyes  in  death  till  he  had  received  assu- 
rance of  a  decisive  victory,  when,  faintly  smiling,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  God  be  praised !"  and  expired.  In  this  engage- 
ment, nineteen  of  the  enemy's  ships  were  captured  by  the 
English.  The  patriotic  hero,  by  whom  this  victory  had 
been  achieved,  was  interred  in  the  most  magnificent  man- 
ner, at  the  public  expense ;  the  title  of  Carl  Nelson  was 
Conferred  on  his  brother,  with  a  suitable  income ;  and  mo- 
numents to  the  memory  of  him  who  had  been  the  pride 
and  the  glory  of  his  country,  arose  in  all  the  principal 
towns  of  the  empire. 

Meanwhile,  the  arms  of  Britain  were  crowned  with  new 
triumphs  in  India,  where  sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  now  duke 
of  Wellington,  defeated  Scindiah,  a  powerful  Mahratta 
chieftain,  and  obliged  him  to  cede  a  large  tract  of  country 
to  the  British  ;  and,  before  the  close  of  the  year  1805,  a 
peace  was  concluded  with  Holkar,  another  Mahratta  chief, 
who  was  also  deprived  of  a  very  considerable  extent  of 
territory. 

France  and  Prussia  concluded  a  treaty,  by  which  Ha- 
nover was  transferred  to  the  latter  power ;  and  Frederic 
William  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  that  electorate,  the 
property  of  his  old  ally,  with  his  troops. 

The  total  failure  of  the  continental  coalition  greatly  aug- 
mented the  gloom  which  prevailed  in  England,  in  conse- 


1 


452  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

quence  of  the  alarming  illness  of  Mr.  Pitt.  This  distin* 
guished  statesman,  whose  infirm  state  of  health  had  been 
increased  by  anxiety  and  disappointment,  expired  on  the 
23d  of  January,  after  having  directed  the  affairs  of 
joQ^  this  country  for  a  longer  period  than  any  former 
minister.  Under  his  auspices, ,  the  maritime-su- 
premacy of  England  was  confirmed  by  a  series  of  most 
splendid  victories  ;  but  the  public  burdens  were  enor- 
mously augmented.  He  laboured  successfully  to  preserve 
Great  Britain  from  the  contagion  of  revolutionary  princi- 
ples ;  and  he  exerted  himself  with  equal  zeal,  but  with  less 
success,  to  resist  the  military  despotism  by  which  France 
threatened  to  subjugate  the  continent.  In  short,  he  was 
a  statesman  of  great  ability  and  strength  of  mind,  who 
rendered  momentous  services  to  his  country  ;  and  it  must 
be  allowed,  that  never  was  the  force  of  the  British  cha- 
racter tried  by  greater  dangers,  or  graced  by  more  splendid 
achievements,  than  under  the  administration  of  William 
Pitt. 

On  the  death  of  this  distinguished  and  disinterested 
statesman,  lord  Grenville  was  appointed  first  lord  of  the 
treasury  ;  Mr.  Fox,  secretary  of  state  for  foreign  affairs  ; 
lord  Henry  Petty,  chancellor  of  the  exchequer ;  and  Mr. 
"Windham,  secretary  of  state  for  the  department  of  war 
and  the  colonies. 

About  ten  days  after  these  appointments,  a  negotiation 
took  place  with  France,  which  was  no  less  singular  in  its 
commencement  than  fruitless  in  its  result.  A  Frenchman, 
calling  himself  Gevrilliere,  disclosed  to  Mr.  Fox  a  plan  for 
the  assassination  of  Bonaparte  ;  but  that  minister  dismiss- 
ed the  wretch  with  indignation,  and  informed  the  French 
government  of  the  meditated  crime.  This  extorted  from 
Bonaparte  a  well  merited  compliment  to  the  honour  and 
generosity  of  Mr.  Fox  ;  and  a  negotiation  for  peace  be- 
tween the  two  countries  commenced  ;  but,  after  being  con- 
tinued for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  the  continental 
policy  of  France  prevented  a  satisfactory  issue. 

One  of  the  first  measures  of  the  new  ministers  was  an 
increase  on  the  income-tax,  which,  already  odious  and  op' 
pressive,  was  raised  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  on  all  in- 
comes exceeding  fifty  pounds. 

In  the  house  of  commons,  Mr.  Fox  moved  a  resolution, 
which  was  earried  into  effect,  and  which  may  be  said  to 


GEORGE   III.  453 

have  closed  the  parliamentary  career  of  that  great  states- 
man. This  resolution  proposed  to  take  effectual  measures 
for  abolishing  the  Slave  Trade  ;  and  an  address  from  both 
houses  was  carried  to  the  king,  beseeching  him  to  obtain 
oy  negotiation  the  concurrence  of  foreign  powers  in  the 
abolition  of  the  iniquitous  traffic. 

The  Cape  of  Good  Hope  again  surrendered  to  the  Bri- 
tish ;  but  an  attempt  on  Spanish  South  America,  though 
at  first  successful,  finally  proved  abortive.  In  Italy,  how- 
ever, the  British  arms  were  triumphant,  and  sir  John  Stuart 
defeated  at  Maida  a  French  army  under  general  Regnier, 
with  great  loss  ;  but  this  brilliant  victory,  which  was  achiev- 
ed with  a  comparatively  small  force,  produced  no  permanent 
change  in  the  state  of  the  kingdom  of  ]>$aples,  though  it 
preserved  Sicily  from  invasion.  Naples  had  been  seized 
on  by  the  French  emperor,  and  Joseph  Bonaparte  was 
proclaimed  king  of  that  country. 

The  emperor  Napoleon  carried  into  effect  a  scheme  for 
subverting  the  ancient  constitution  of  the  German  empire, 
by  establishing  what  is  called  the  confederation  of  the 
Rhine.  The  members  of  this  confederation  were  the  em- 
peror of  the  French,  the  kings  of  Bavaria  and  Wirtemberg, 
and  several  other  German  princes.  Separating  themselves 
from  the  Germanic  empire,  these  princes  chose  Bonaparte 
for  their  protector,  and  established  a  federal  alliance,  by 
which  they  engaged  to  furnish  a  certain  contingent  of 
troops,  in  case  of  a  continental  war.  Conformably  to  an 
arrangement  with  Napoleon,  Francis  resigned  his  office 
and  title  of  emperor  of  Germany,  and  annexed  his  German 
provinces  to  the  empire  of  Austria. 

On  the  13th  of  September  died  that  illustrious  statesman 
and  friend  to  the  human  race,  Charles  James  Fox,  whose 
last  moments  were  embittered,  by  finding  that  the 
ambition  of  Bonaparte  deprived  him  of  the  plea-  jq/^ 
sure  dearest  to  his  heart — that  of  terminating  the 
sufferings  of  distracted  Europe,  and  restoring  to  his  coun- 
try the  blessings  of  peace.     As  a  senator,  Mr.  Fox  was 
distinguished  alike  for  the  comprehensiveness  of  his  views, 
the  liberality  of  his  principles,  and  the  persuasive  and  con- 
vincing power  of  his  eloquence  ;  as  a  minister,  he  display- 
ed in  the  management  of  public  affairs  the  same  noble 
simplicity  which  characterized  his  conduct  in  private  life  ; 
and,  as  a  man,  his  great  and  amiable  qualities  acquired 


454  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

him  the  cordial  affection  of  his  friends,  and  the  generous 
admiration  of  his  adversaries. 

On  the  death  of  this  lamented  statesman,  lord  Howick 
was  appointed  secretary  of  foreign  affairs,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Grenville  became  first  lord  of  the  admiralty. 

The  fate  of  Prussia  proved  the  danger  to  which  all  the 
old  governments  were  exposed.  After  Napoleon  was  en- 
gaged in  hostilities  with  Great  Britain  and  Sweden,  he 
rendered  himself  formidable  to  all  Europe,  by  the  prompt- 
ness and  energy  of  his  conduct.  Frederic  William  disco- 
vered that  the  French  emperor,  who  had  guarantied  to  him 
the  possession  of  Hanover,  was  offering  the  restoration  of 
that  electorate  as  the  basis  of  negotiation  with  the  English 
court.  Indignant  at  the  danger  of  losing  this  acquisition, 
he  resolved  to  try  the  hazard  of  war  ;  and,  after  successive 
actions,  in  which  the  Prussians  were  uniformly  defeated,  a 
tremendous  conflict  took  place  on  the  14th  of  October,  in 
the  plains  between  Weimar  and  Auerstadt.  The  issue  of 
this  engagement,  in  which  Frederic  William  suf- 
IftOfi  fere^  a  tota^  defeat,  laid  Prussia  at  the  mercy  of 
Bonaparte,  who  took  possession  of  Berlin,  and 
completely  subjugated  that  country.  Between  the  French 
and  Russian  armies  a  series  of  blood)  contests  also  took 
place,  in  which  the  former  were  uniformly  victorious  ;  and, 
at  length,  peace  was  signed  at  Tilsit  by  the  emperors  of 
France  and  Russia. 

Napoleon  now  controlled  the  whole  of  the  continent. 
His  brother  Louis  was  created  king  of  Holland  ;  his  bro- 
ther Joseph,  king  of  Naples  ;  and  his  brother  Jerome  was 
in  person  created  king  of  Westphalia,  with  territories  ce- 
ded by  Prussia  and  other  neighbouring  states.  Napoleon 
himself  was  not  only  emperor  of  France,  but  also  king  of 
Italy  ;  and  Spain  was  entirely  subservient  to  the  policy  of 
that  ambitious  and  daring,  though  able  ruler. 

Whilst  at  Berlin,  Bonaparte  issued  a  decree,  interdict- 
ing all  commerce  and  correspondence  between  the  coun- 
tries under  his  control  and  the  British  Islands,  which  he 
declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade. 

The  well  known  reluctance  of  the  king  to  extend  the 
privileges  of  the  catholics,  did  not  prevent  lord  Grenville 
and  his  associates  from  introducing  a  bill  into  parliament, 
for  the  purpose  of  empowering  persons  of  that  persuasion 
to  fill  the  highest  offices  in  the  army  and  navy.    The  king 


GEORGE  m.  455 

expressed  his  decided  objection  to  this  measure,  and  de- 
manded from  his  ministers  a  written  pledge,  that  they 
would  never  again  bring  forward  any  proposal  connected 
with  the  catholic  question.  As  the  ministers  could  not 
assent  to  this,  they  resigned  their  situations,  and  a  new  ad- 
ministration was  formed.  The  duke  of  Portland  was  ap- 
pointed first  lord  of  the  treasury  ;  Mr.  Perceval,  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer ;  lord  Eldon,  lord  chancellor ;  lord  Liver- 
pool, secretary  for  the  home  department ;  and  Mr.  Can- 
ning, secretary  for  foreign  affairs. 

A  new  parliament  was  assembled,  which  fully  establish- 
ed the  strength  of  the  new  ministers ;  and  the  first 
important  measure  was  a  plan  for  increasing  the  ,^J 
regular  army  from  the  militia,  and  supplying  the 
deficiencies  arising  from  such  a  transfer,  by  a  supplemen- 
tary militia.     In  the  beginning  of  this  year,  the  island  of 
Curracoa  surrendered  to  the  English. 

A  confederacy  of  the  northern  powers  against  Britain 
being  now  apprehended,  the  ministers  sent  a  powerful  ar- 
mament against  Denmark,  which  was  compelled  to  sur- 
render her  fleet  to  the  English,  after  the  bombardment  of 
her  capital.  This  measure  justly  excited  the  indignation 
of  Europe,  and  gave  to  the  enemies  of  Great  Britain  a 
plausible  pretext  for  their  hostility. 

In  consequence  of  the  decree  of  Bonaparte  from  Berlin, 
the  English  ministers  issued  orders,  subjecting  all  ports 
and  places  in  Europe,  from  which  the  British  flag  was 
excluded,  and  all  those  in  the  colonies  of  his  majesty's 
enemies,  to  the  restrictions  consequent  on  actual  blockade, 
declaring  all  trade  in  the  produce  or  manufactures  of  such 
countries  or  colonies  to  be  unlawful,  and  authorizing  the 
capture  of  all  vessels  engaged  in  that  trade.  To  these 
orders  Bonaparte  published  a  rejoinder  at  Milan,  in  which 
he  decreed,  that  all  ships  which  should  be  searched  by  a 
British  vessel,  or  should  pay  any  tax  to  the  English  go- 
vernment, were  denationalized,  and  might  be  lawfully  cap- 
tured wherever  found. 

These  conflicting  regulations  respecting  the  trade  of 
neutrals,  occasioned  an  act  in  the  American  congress,  im- 
posing a  strict  embargo  on  all  vessels  belonging  to  the 
American  states,  and  commanding  all  foreign  ships  to  quit 
the  harbours  of  the  United  States. 

The  designs  of  Bonaparte  against  Spain  became  daily 


446  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Mysore  fell  in  action,  and  with  him  the  empire  which  had 
been  established  by  his  father  Hyder  Ally.  The  greater 
part  of  his  dominions  were  seized  by  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, and  his  family  were  sent  to  Calcutta. 
•  While  the  allies  were  engaged  in  endeavouring  to  make 
an  impression  upon  France,  Great  Britain  undertook  an 
expedition  to  detach  the  Batavian  republic  from  its  con- 
nexion with  the  French ;  and  a  powerful  armament  was 
sent  to  Holland,  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of  York. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  with  the 
British  and  Russian  troops,  landed  at  the  Helder,  and  de- 
feated the  forces  opposed  to  them,  after  a  short  and  sharp 
conflict.  Soon  after,  however,  the  duke  of  York  assuming 
the  command,  the  enemy  having  assembled  in  great  force, 
and  the  season  being  too  far  advanced  to  suffer  them  to 
continue  in  the  field,  in  a  hostile  country,  the  English 
were  obliged  to  abandon  the  enterprise  with  great  loss. 

Meanwhile,  Bonaparte  left  the  army  which  he  command- 
ed in  Egypt,  and  embarking  in  an  armed  vessel,  reached 
France  in  safety.  The  divisions  and  intrigues  in  the 
French  directory,  aided  by  the  popularity  which  he  had 
acquired,  enabled  him  to  seize  the  reins  of  government ; 
and  dissolving  the  council  of  five  hundred,  he  established 
a  new  constitution,  the  executive  part  of  which  was  vested 
in  himself  as  first  consul,  with  two  subordinate  consuls  as 
his  colleagues. 

On  his  accession  to  the  consular  government,  Bonaparte 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  re- 
quested his  majesty  to  concur  with  him  in  restoring  peace 
to  the  world ;  but  these  overtures  being  rejected,  under 
the  plea  that  his  continuance  in  power  might  be  as  unsta- 
ble as  his  predecessors,  he  prepared  to  carry  on  the  war 

j        with  vigour.     At  Marengo,  he  gave  the  Austrians 

,  ,  a  most  signal  defeat,  and  obliged  the  emperor  to 
1800  concm(^e  tne  treaty  of  Luneville.  Malta  having 
submitted  to  the  arms  of  England,  after  a  blockade 
of  two  years,  the  French  entered  into  a  treaty  for  evacuating 
Egypt ;  but  the  British  government  unhappily  refusing  to 
ratify  this  convention,  which  had  been  formed  under  the 
auspices  of  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  the  French  general  in  that 
country  recommenced  hostilities ;  and  in  order  to  expel 
the  enemy  from  that  province,  without  which  our  India 
possessions  could  not  have  been  secure,  sir  Ralph  Aber^ 


GEORGE   III.  457 

men.  Sir  Hugh  Dalrymple,  who  arrived  from  Gibraltar  to 
assume  the  command  of  the  British  army,  concluded  a 
disgraceful  convention  at  Cintra,  by  which  the  French 
troops  were  sent  to  France,  at  the  expense  of  the  Eng- 
lish government,  without  being  considered  as  prisoners  of 
war. 

The  command  of  the  British  army  in  Portugal  devolved 
on  sir  John  Moore,  who  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of 
twelve  thousand  men.  That  officer  had  been  intrusted 
with  an  expedition  for  the  assistance  of  Sweden,  against 
which  war  had  been  declared  by  Russia,  Prussia,  and 
Denmark ;  but  through  the  capricious  and  violent  con- 
duct of  the  Swedish  monarch,  he  had  been  constrained  to 
return  without  landing  his  troops. 

Meanwhile,  the  disasters  which  befel  the  French  armies 
in  Spain,  intimidated  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who,  after  a  resi- 
dence of  ten  days  in  Madrid,  decamped  from  that  capital, 
taking  with  him  the  regalia  and  crown  jewels,  and  some 
other  valuables  from  the  palaces  and  treasury.  On  this 
occasion,  the  Spaniards  contemptuously  observed,  that 
M  Joseph  had  put  into  his  pocket,  the  crown  which  he 
durst  not  wear  upon  his  head." 

The  French  emperor,  indignant  at  the  conduct  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  discomfiture  of  his  armies,  announced 
to  his  legislative  body,  that,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of 
his  troops,  he  would  crown  his  brother  at  Madrid,  and  plant 
his  eagles  on  the  fortresses  of  Portugal.  Accordingly,  a 
large  and  overwhelming  force  entered  Spain  ;  and  the  un- 
disciplined troops  of  that  country  were  easily  defeated  by 
the  hosts  of  French  veterans,  commanded  by  the  most  able 
generals,  and  animated  by  the  the  presence  of  Napoleon. 

By  the  representations  and  remonstrances  of  Mr.  Frere,  " 
the  English  minister  at  Madrid,  sir  John  Moore  had  been 
urged  to  direct  his  march  to  that  capital;  but  hearing 
that  Madrid  had  surrendered  to  the  French,  and  that 
Napoleon  was  marching  against  him  with  a  great  body  of 
forces,  the  English  general  found  himself  compelled  to 
retreat.  The  distresses  which  the  British  army  suffered 
in  this  retreat  were  dreadful.  With  few  intervals  of  re- 
pose which  the  French  forces  allowed  them,  they  traversed 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  a  mountainous  country,  in 
the  middle  of  a  severe  winter,  and  by  roads  almost  im- 
passable. At  length,  after  a  most  painful  and  harassing 
39 


458  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

retreat,  in  which  they  lost  several   thousand  men,   the 
British  army  reached  Corunna  on  the  12th  of  Ja- 

1809  nuary »  anc*  on  tne  ^th  °*  tnat  montn»  when  the 
embarkation  of  the  troops  was  about  to  commence, 
they  were  attacked  by  the  French,  under  the  command  of 
marshal  Soult.  The  British,  however,  though  inferior  in 
number,  exhausted  by  harassing  marches,  and  deprived  of 
their  artillery,  which  had  been  embarked,  repulsed  the 
enemy,  and  achieved  a  victory  under  the  most  adverse 
circumstances ;  but,  in  this  engagement,  the  English  lost 
their  brave  commander,  who  was  killed  by  a  cannon  ball, 
and  who,  in  his  last  moments,  expressed  a  hope  that  his 
country  would  do  him  justice. 

Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  being  again  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  army  in  the  peninsula,  landed  with  rein- 
forcements in  Portugal.  Soult  was  driven  from  Oporto ; 
and  sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  joined  by  the  Spanish  general 
Cuesta,  hastened  to  meet  marshal  Victor  in  the  south. 
The  allied  army  was  strongly  posted  at  Talavera,  where 
it  was  attacked  by  Victor.  An  obstinate  engagement  en- 
sued, in  which  the  French  were  defeated  with  the  loss  of 
ten  thousand  men.  This  victory  occasioned  great  joy  in 
England ;  and  sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was  honored  with  a 
peerage,  by  the  title  of  lord  viscount  Wellington. 

After  this  battle,  the  enemy  collected  in  great  force, 
under  marshals  Ney,  Soult,  and  Mortier,  and  the  British 
army  was  obliged  to  retreat  into  Portugal.  In  the  other 
districts  of  Spain,  the  French  arms  were  triumphant ;  and, 
at  the  close  of  the  campaign,  the  principal  armies  of  the 
patriots  had  been  successively  defeated  and  dispersed. 

The  island  of  Martinico  was  taken  by  the  English  ;  and 
lord  Cochrane  destroyed  or  rendered  unserviceable  ten 
French  ships  in  Basque  roads. 

War  being  again  declared  between  Austria  and  France, 
the  hostile  armies  were  put  in  motion ;  and  battles  were 
fought  at  Abensberg,  at  Eckmuhl,  and  at  Ratisbon,  all  in 
favour  of  the  French.  In  the  battle  of  Asperne,  however, 
Bonaparte  was  unsuccessful  against  the  archduke  Charles ; 
but  at  Wagram,  a  short  time  after,  he  obtained  a  decisive 
victory  over  the  Austrians,  and  compelled  the  emperor 
again  to  sue  for  peace,  which  he  granted. 

An  expedition  was  fitted  out  for  making  a  descent  on 
the  Dutch  island  of  Zealand  ;  and  an  armament,  consist 


GEORGE   III.  459 


ing  of  a  military  force  of  nearly  forty  thousand  men,  under 
the  command  of  the  earl  of  Chatham,  and  a  fleet  of  thirty- 
nine  sail  of  the  line,  and  thirty-six  frigates,  under  the  di- 
rection of  sir  Richard  Strachan,  sailed  from  England. 
After  a  vigorous  siege,  Flushing  was  compelled  to  surren- 
der ;  but  the  ulterior  objects  of  this  expedition  completely 
failed ;  and  the  occupation  of  the  low  and  marshy  islands 
of  Walcherin  and  South  Beveland,  proved  greatly  destruc- 
tive to  the  troops,  who  were  seized  with  a  pestilential  fever. 

The  reduction  of  Zante,  and  the  consequent  surrender 
of  the  Ionian  islands,  effected  by  the  joint  efforts  of  lord 
Collingwood  and  sir  John  Stuart,  may  be  reckoned  among 
the  more  fortunate  events  of  this  year. 

A  partial  change  of  administration  took  place,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  resignations  of  lord  Castlereagh,  Mr.  Can- 
ning, and  the  duke  of  Portland.  Mr.  Perceval  united  in 
his  own  person  the  offices  of  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer ;  the  marquis  Wellesley  was 
appointed  secretary  for  foreign  affairs ;  and  lord  Liverpool 
secretary  at  war. 

The  next  session  of  parliament  commenced  with  violent 
debates  on  the  disastrous  expedition  to  Walcherin ; 
and  lord  Chatham  thought  proper  to  resign  his  iqiq 
office  of  master  general  of  the  ordnance. 

In  Spain,  the  cause  of  independence  was  still  unsuc- 
cessful ;  but  Cadiz,  which  had  become  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, being  protected  by  a  combined  British  and  Spanish 
fleet,  and  occupied  by  a  considerable  military  force,  bade 
defiance  to  any  attack  of  the  enemy. 

Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Almeida  fell  successively  into  the 
hands  of  the  French.  At  Buzaco,  however,  the  English 
obtained  a  victory,  but  afterwards  retired  to  the  strong 
lines  of  Torres  Vedras ;  and  marshal  Massena,  the  French 
general,  fixed  his  head  quarters  at  Santarem. 

Napoleon  divorced  the  empress  Josephine,  and  married 
the  archduchess  Maria  Louisa,  daughter  to  the  emperor 
of  Austria.  Europe  beheld  with  astonishment  this  alliance ; 
which  was  not  less  disgraceful  to  the  emperor  Francis,  than 
injurious  in  France  to  the  popularity  of  Bonaparte. 

The  sovereignty  of  Holland  was  resigned  by  Louis ;  and 
the  Seven  United  States  were  annexed  to  the  French  em- 
pire. In  Sweden,  the  states  elected  the  French  marshal 
Bernadotte,  crown  prince  of  that  country. 


460  HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 

In  the  West  Indies,  the  English  took  the  island  of  Gau- 
daloupe  ;  and  in  the  Indian  ocean,  the  French  islands  of 
Bourbon  and  the  Mauritius.  They  also  took  Amboyna 
from  the  Dutch. 

In  consequence  of  the  return  of  the  king's  malady,  the 

prince  of  Wales  was  appointed  regent,  subject  to  all  the 

restrictions  which,  on  a  former  occasion,  had  been 

1811  ProPose(l  Dv  ^r*  ^tt*  ®n  tne  6th  °f  February, 
his  royal  highness  was  installed  as  regent ;  and  he 
declared  his  intention  not  to  remove  from  their  stations 
those  whom  he  found  his  majesty's  official  servants,  lest 
any  act  of  his  might  interfere  with  his  royal  father's  re- 
covery. 

The  commercial  distress  of  the  nation  necessarily  de- 
manded the  attention  of  parliament ;  and  a  bill  was  passed 
empowering  the  treasury  to  issue  exchequer  bills  to  the 
amount  of  six  millions  sterling,  the  same  to  be  reimbursed 
in  three  quarterly  instalments ;  but  the  effects  of  this  bill 
were  less  beneficial  than  had  been  expected.  The  legis- 
lature also  passed  a  bill,  for  preventing  the  current  gold 
coin  from  being  paid  for  a  greater  value  than  its  current 
value,  for  preventing  bank  of  England  notes  from  being 
received  at  a  value  inferior  to  that  which  they  represented, 
and  for  staying  proceedings  in  any  distress  by  the  tender 
of  such  notes. 

The  difficulty  of  obtaining  the  necessary  supplies  of 
provisions  in  a  desolated  country,  and  at  such  a  distance 
from  his  resources,  compelled  Massena  to  quit  his  strong 
camp  at  Santarem.  He  was  closely  pursued  by  lord  Wel- 
lington, who  found  means  to  force  part  of  his  army  into 
occasional  actions,  in  which  great  numbers  of  the  French 
were  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  In  order  to  relieve  Al- 
meida, which  lord  Wellington  had  invested,  Massena  at- 
tacked the  British  army,  but  was  repulsed,  and  obliged  to 
retire  to  Salamanca. 

Lieutenant-general  Graham  defeated  the  French  at 
Barosa,  where  the  enemy  lost  an  eagle,  six  pieces  of 
cannon,  and  upwards  of  three  thousand  men,  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners.  Marshal  Beresford,  who  was  in- 
vesting Badajoz,  which  the  Spanish  governor  had  pusil- 
lanimously  surrendered  to  the  enemy,  defeated  the  French 
under  Marshal  Soult,  in  the  battle  of  Albuera,  in  which 


GEORGE  III.  461 

the  enemy  lost  about  eight  thousand  men  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

In  the  east  of  Spain,  the  French  arms  were  triumphant. 
Tarragona,  reduced  after  an  obstinate  defence,  suffered 
every  cruelty  which  could  be  inflicted  by  the  conquerors. 
The  Dutch  island  of  Batavia,  in  the  East  Indies,  surren- 
dered to  an  English  force  under  sir  Samuel  Auchmuty. 

The  affairs  of  Great  Britain  were  now  approaching  to 
a  crisis.     The  contest  in  Spain  was  still  doubtful ;  a  dis- 
pute existed  with  America,  in  regard  to  the  orders  in  coun- 
cil, and  threatened  an  open  rupture  with  that  country ; 
and  France  was  preparing  for  the  subjugation  of  Russia, 
which  refused  to  comply  with  the  treaty  of  Tilsit 
by  excluding  the  British  from  all  commerce  with  i'q*A 
the  continent,  a  mightier  armament  than  had  ever 
been  collected  in  Europe.     At  home,  the  decline  of  trade 
produced  severe  distress  among  the  people ;  and  a  spirit 
of  discontent  and  insubordination  manifested  itself  in  se- 
veral of  the  manufacturing  districts. 

The  parliament  passed  two  bills,  by  one  of  which  the 
crime  of  frame  breaking  was  made  a  capital  offence;  and 
by  the  other,  additional  powers  were  given  to  magistrates 
for  a  limited  time,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  public 
peace  in  the  disturbed  counties. 

On  the  11th  of  May,  as  Mr.  Perceval  was  entering  the 
lobby  of  the  house  of  commons,  he  was  shot  by  a 
person  of  the  name  of  Bellingham,  and  died  almost  jo^ 
immediately.     This  man  professed  to   have   sus- 
tained injuries  from  the  Russian  government,  which  the 
British  ministers  being  unable  to  redress,  he  determined  to 
put  one  of  them  to  death,  that  his  case  might  be  brought 
before  a  court  of  justice.     The  murderer  made  no  attempt 
to  palliate  his   crime,   which  he   expiated  with  his  life. 
Ample  provision  was  made  by  parliament  for  the  widow 
and  children  of  Mr.  Perceval ;  and  men  of  all  parties  la- 
mented his  untimely  fate,  and  bore  testimony  to  his  upright 
and  amiable  character. 

After  much  delay,  a  new  administration  was  formed,  in 
which  lord  Liverpool  was  appointed  first  lord  of  the  trea<- 
sury,  lord  Sidmouth  (formerly  Mr.  Addiug$on)  secretary 
of  state  for  the  home  department,  and  Mr.  Vansittart  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer. 

One  of  tke^first  acts  of  the  present  government  was  a 


462  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

revocation  of  the  orders  in  council,  as  far  as  regarded 
American  property  ;  but  before  intelligence  of  this  repeal 
could  be  received  in  America,  the  United  States  had  decla- 
red war  against  Great  Britain.  The  republicans  commen- 
ced hostilities  by  an  irruption  into  Upper  Canada,  but  were 
defeated,  and  obliged  to  surrender  to  the  British.  For 
their  disgraces  by  land,  however,  the  Americans  received 
some  compensation  by  their  successes  at  sea. 

In  the  peninsular  war,  the  French  arms  were  triumphant 
in  the  east  of  Spain  ;  but  in  the  west,  they  suffered  great 
reverses.  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Badajoz  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  allies  ;  and  so  important  did  the  capture  of  the  for- 
mer place  appear  to  the  Spaniards,  that  the  Cortes  confer- 
red on  lord  Wellington  the  rank  of  a  grandee,  with  the 
title  of  duke  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 

Marshal  Marmont,  who  had  assumed  the  command  of 
the  French  army,  was  completely  defeated  by  lord  Wel- 
lington at  Salamanca.  This  was  the  greatest  victory  that 
the  English  general  had  yet  achieved,  and  sufficiently 
showed  that  the  military  talents  of  his  lordship  were  su- 
perior to  those  of  his  adversary,  who  was  one  of  the  most. 

distinguished  of  the  French  marshals.     The  effects 
1812  °^tn^s  victorv  were  felt  in  different  parts  of  Spain. 

Astorga  capitulated,  the  blockade  of  Cadiz  was 
raised,  Bilboa  evacuated,  and  Seville  recovered.  Lord 
Wellington  advanced,  and  laid  siege  to  Burgos ;  but  fail- 
ing in  his  attempt  to  take  it,  and  the  French  army,  which 
had  been  reinforced,  threatening  the  allies,  his  lordship 
retreated,  and  established  his  head-quarters  at  Freynada, 
on  the  Portuguese  frontier.  In  admiration  of  his  talents 
and  achievements,  the  cortes  invested  him  with  the  au- 
thority of  commander-in-chief  of  the  Spanish  armies. 

Napoleon's  enterprise   against   Russia,  which,  in   the 

boldness  of  its  object,  as  well  as  the  magnificent  scale 

on  which  it  was  conducted,  surpassed  every  expedition 

undertaken  by  any  European  power,  threatened  the  con- 

••  quest  of  that  mighty  empire.     The  French  force  employed 

in  this  undertaking,  has  been  estimated  at  four 
1812  nun(^re^  thousand  effective  men.     On  the  24th  of 

June,  Napoleon,  with  his  formidable  army,  passed 
the  Niemen,  and  entered  the  Russian  territory.  The  plan 
of  his  adversaries  was,  to  resist  the  progress  of  the  in- 
vader without  risking  a  general  engagement,  to  lay  waste 


GEORGE    111.  463 

ihe  country  through  which  he  should  aim  to  penetrate, 
and  to  harass  him  as  he  advanced,  and  cut  off  his  supplies. 
Bonaparte  attacked  the  main  Russian  army  at  Smolensko, 
which  the  Russians  despairing  of  retaining,  they  retreated ; 
but  the  invaders,  on  their  entrance,  found  the  city  burning 
and  in  ruins.  The  conqueror  now  hastened  towards  Mos- 
cow, of  which,  after  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Borodino,  he 
obtained  possession. 

On  the  entrance  of  the  French  emperor  into  that  devo- 
ted place,  which  the  invaders  had  fondly  hoped  would  have 
afforded  some  repose  for  their  toils,  the  city  was  found  on 
fire ;  and  a  violent  wind  arising  soon^after,  the  conflagra- 
tion became  general,  and  the  whole  extent  of  that  ancient 
capital,  for  many  miles,  appeared  like  a  sea  of  flame.  Two 
thirds  of  the  city  were  destroyed. 

Napoleon  was  now  in  the  greatest  difficulty.  His  stores 
were  exhausted,  and  his  supplies  intercepted  by  the  Rus- 
sian armies  ;  and  his  soldiers,  dispirited  and  discontented, 
were  enfeebled  by  the  fatigue  and  distress  to  which  they 
had  been  exposed.  A  retreat  was  now  inevitable.  The 
horrors  of  this  retreat,  or  rather  flight,  exceed  the  powers 
of  description.  The  route  of  the  army  might  be  traced,  in 
many  places,  by  the  dead  bodies  of  those  who  perished 
from  cold,  hunger,  or  fatigue  ;  and  of  the  numerous  hosts 
that  composed  the  invading  army,  not  more  than  fifty 
thousand  men  recrossed  the  Russian  boundary. 

The  new  parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  as- 
sembled under  happier  auspices  than  the  most  sanguine 
politician  could  have  ventured  to  anticipate.  The  session 
was  opened  by  the  prince  regent,  who  expressed  his  firm 
reliance  on  the  determination  of  parliament  to  continue 
every  aid  in  support  of  a  contest^  which  had  first  given  to 
the  continent  of  Europe  the  example  of  persevering  and 
successful  resistance  to  the  power  of  France.  A  grant  of 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  was  voted  to  lord  Welling- 
ton, and  another  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers  in  Russia.  A  bill  was  passed,  by 
which  the  East  India  Company  was  to  continue  in  pos- 
session of  all  its  former  territories  in  India,  with  the  later 
acquisitions,  continental  and  insular,  to  the  north  of  the 
equator,  for  the  further  term  of  twenty  years  from  the  20th 
of  April,  1814.  The  exclusive  ri^ht  of  a  commercial  in- 
tercourse with  China,  and  of  the  trade  in  tea,  was  preserv- 


464  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

ed  to  the  company  ;  but  his  majesty's  subjects  in  general 
were  permitted  to  trade  to  and  from  all  ports  within  the 
limits  of  the  company's  charter,  under  certain  provisions. 

One  of  the  first  effects  of  the  late  Russian  campaign, 

was  to  rouse  the  other  powers  of  Europe  from  their  state 

of  subjection  to  the  dominion  of  France.     Prussia 

1813  urutec*  ner  arms  to  tnose  °f  Russia;  and  Austria  did 

not  long  delay  to  follow  the  example.       Sweden, 

subsidised  by  Great  Britain,  joined  the  allies.     The  battle 

of  Leipsic  was  completely  decisive  against  the  French  ; 

and  the  Dutch,  availing  themselves  of  this  opportunity  ol 

throwing  off  the  galling  yoke  of  France,  recalled  from  his 

long  exile  the  prince  of  Orange,  who  entered  the  Hague 

amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  people.     The  influence  of 

Bonaparte  in  Germany  was  now  nearly  annihilated  ;   and 

the  complete  deliverance  of  Europe  from  the  yoke  of 

France  seemed  no  longer  doubtful. 

The  disasters  of  their  countrymen  in  Germany  para- 
lyzed the  efforts  of  the  French  in  Spain.  The  skill  and 
activity  of  lord  Wellington  prevented  them  from  securing 
the  line  of  the  Douro  ;  and,  at  Vittoria,  he  completely  de- 
feated the  French,  commanded  by  Joseph  Bonaparte,  un- 
der whom  marshal  Jourdan  acted  as  major-general.  After 
suffering  this  defeat,  the  French  retired  by  Pampeluna,  and 
pursued  their  retreat  over  the  Pyrennes  into  France.  Jo- 
seph Bonaparte  fled  in  confusion,  and  thus  terminated  his 
possession  of  the  Spanish  monarchy. 

In  the  east  of  Spain,  the  success  of  the  allies  was  les& 
flattering  ;  and  sir  John  Murray,  who  had  landed  an  army 
of  fifteen  thousand  men  from  Sicily,  attempted  the  siege  of 
Tarragona;  but,  though  the  town  had  been  partly  dismant- 
led, and  was  feebly  garrisoned,  the  British  general,  on  the 
report  of  Suchet's  approach  from  Valencia,  hastily  aban- 
doned the  siege,  and  left  his  cannon  in  the  batteries. 

Early  in  January,  the  allied  armies  in  Germany  passed 
the  Rhine,  and  entered  France  at  different  points.      For 
some  time,  Napoleon  appeared  irresolute;  but  when  the  in- 
vaders had  reached  Champagne,  he  became  con- 
iftli  v"1060*  °f  tne  necessity  of  acting  with  vigour.     At 
Brienne,  he  attacked  marshal  Blucher,  whom  he 
compelled  to  retreat ;  but  at  La  Rothiere,  he  was  obliged 
to  retire  in  his  turn.    The  allies  now  advanced  to  Troyes, 
which  was  entered  by  the  prince  of  Wurtemburg ;  Chalons 


Napoleon  conveyed  to  St.  Helena. 


The  three  Sovereigns  in  Hyde  Park. 


GEORGE  III.  405 

on  the  Marne  was  evacuated  by  Macdonald ;  and  Chalons 
on  the  Saone  was  taken  by  the  Austrians.  Bonaparte, 
on  the  verge  of  ruin,  made  the  most  surprising  and  ener- 
getic efforts  for  his  recovery.  Unable  to  oppose  an  ade- 
quate resistance  to  the  allied  armies  in  every  quarter,  he 
determined  to  concentrate  his  forces,  and  by  bearing  vigo- 
rously on  particular  points,  to  aim  at  destroying  their  com- 
munication with  each  other.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan, 
he  attacked  the  Prussian  army  under  Blucher,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  retreat  to  Chalons  on  the  Marne.  He  next 
directed  his  attention  to  prince  Schwartzenberg,  who  had 
been  advanced  on  Paris,  by  way  of  the  Seine,  and  forced 
him  to  retire. 

During  these  transactions,  negotiations  for  peace  were 
carried  on  at  Chatillon.  The  British  envoys  were  the 
earl  of  Aberdeen  and  lord  Cathcart,  under  the  direction 
of  lord  Castlereagh  ;  Caulaincourt  was  the  representative 
of  Napoleon  ;  and  plenipotentiaries  were  also  appointed 
by  the  Russian,  Austrian,  and  Prussian  courts.  The  ulti- 
matum of  Bonaparte,  however,  to  maintain  the  integrity 
of  the  French  empire,  were  deemed  inconsistent  with  the 
balance  of  power  in  Europe,  and  on  that  account  the  con- 
ferences terminated. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  marquis  of  Wellington,  after 
crossing  the  Bidassoa,  gradually  proceeded  in  the  south 
of  France.  His  army  forced  the  passage  of  the  Gave  de 
Pau  at  Orthes,  and  next  day  crossed  the  Adour.  A  divi- 
sion under  marshal  Beresford  entered  Bordeaux,  which 
declared  for  the  Bourbons,  and  the  chief  inhabitants  wel- 
comed the  British  troops  as  deliverers.  Soult  was  defeated 
by  the  marquis  of  Wellington  at  Tarbes,  and  afterwards 
at  Toulouse. 

The  allied  armies  in  the  north  of  France  continued  to 
advance,  and,  notwithstanding  the  extraordinary  exertions 
and  abilities  displayed  by  Napoleon,  they  succeeded,  by  a 
convention  entered  into  with  marshal  Marmont,  in  ob>- 
taining  possession  of  the  city  of  Paris.  A  special  senate 
appointed  a  provisional  government,  which  declared,  that 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  violated  the  compact  which  unit- 
ed him  to  the  French  people,  and  had  thereby  forfeited  his 
right  to  the  throne  of  France. 

Under  these  circumstances,  on  the  4th  of  April  a  treaty 
was  concluded  at  Fontainbleau,  by  which  Bonaparte,  on 


466  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

certain  conditions,  abdicated,  for  himself  and  his  heirs,  the 

thrones  of  France  and  Italy.   The  isle  of  Elba  was 

tftli  to  ^e  Possessed  by  him  in  full  sovereignty,  and  an 

annual  revenue  of  two  millions  of  francs,  charged 

on  the  great  book  of  France  ;  and  to  his  consort,  Maria 

Louisa,  were   assigned  the  duchies  of  Parma,  Placentia, 

and  Guastalla.  On  the  20th  of  the  same  month,  Napoleon 

began  his  journey  to  the  isle  of  Elba,  accompanied  by 

four  commissioners  from  the  allied  powers. 

Louis  XVIII.  embarked  at  Dover,  and  was  joyfully  wel- 
comed at  Calais ;  but  in  the  capital,  the  acclamations  of 
the  loyal  people  produced  no  response  from  the  soldiery. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  Louis  was  to  issue  a  declaration 
forming  the  basis  of  the  constitutional  charter,  by  which 
the  liberties  of  the  French  nation  were  to  be  secured. 

Peace  was  concluded  between  France  and  the  allied 
powers,  Austria,  Russia,  Great  Britain  and  Prussia.  By 
this  treaty,  the  continental  dominions  of  France  were,  ge- 
nerally speaking,  restricted  to  the  limits  which  bounded 
them  on  the  1st  of  January,  1792.  Her  colonies,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  were  restored.  England  retained  Malta, 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  small  island  of  Heligo- 
land, besides  some  islands  in  the  east  and  West  Indies. 

In  the  beginning  of  June,  the  emperor  of  Russia  and  the 
king  of  Prussia  visited  England,  attended  by  marshal  Blu- 
cher,  the  Hetman  PlatofF,  and  other  distinguished  officers. 
The  visit  of  these  illustrious  strangers  was  celebrated  in 
London,  and  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  with  extraordi- 
nary rejoicing  and  festivity. 

The  duke  of  Wellington's  return  was  hailed  with  no 
less  joy  than  the  arrival  of  the  allied  sovereigns.  On  his 
taking  his  seat  for  the  first  time  in  the  house  of  lords,  his 
various  patents  of  honour,  as  baron,  viscount,  earl,  mar- 
quis, and  duke,  were  successively  recited  ;  and  the  thanks 
of  the  house,  which  had  been  voted  the  evening  before, 
were  addressed  to  him  by  the  lord  chancellor.  To  sup- 
port these  high  honours,  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  was  voted  for  the  purchase  of  a  palace  and 
domain  suitable  to  his  dignity.  Proportionate  honours  and 
emoluments  were  assigned  to  his  gallant  companions  in 
arms  ;  and  generals  Graham,  Hill,  and  Beresford,  were 
raised  to  the  peerage. 

While  peace  was  thus  happily  restored  to  Europe,  the 


GEORGE    III.  467 

war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  Ame- 
rica still  raged  with  much  animosity,  devastation,  and 
bloodshed.     At  length,  however,  on  the  24th  of 
December,  a  treaty  of  pacification  was  effected  be-  t \Pl 
tween  the  two  countries  at  Ghent;  and  for  the 
first  time,  after  the  period  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  with 
the  exception  of  the  feverish  truce  of  Amiens,  a  general 
peace  prevailed  in  both  hemispheres,  and  for  the  present 
the  temple  of  Janus  was  closed. 

The  return  of  Bonaparte  from  Elba  created  a  strong 
feeling  throughout  Europe.    This  extraordinary  man  land- 
ed in  the  south  of  France,  with  a  few  followers,  on 
the  first  of  March,  and  was  every  where  received  |Q|Dc 
with  extravagant  joy.     On  the  20th  of  the  same 
month,  Louis  XVIII.  fled  from  Paris,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  Napoleon  entered  that  capital,  and  re- 
sumed the  government. 

His  first  attempt  was  to  conciliate  the  allies,  to  whom 
he  proposed  to  maintain  the  peace  which  had  been  con- 
cluded with  Louis  at  Paris;  but  the  allies  rejected  the 
proposition,  and  began  immediately  to  put  their  armies  in 
motion,  with  the  avowed  design  of  once  more  displacing 
him,  and  restoring  the  Bourbons.  The  English  and  Prus- 
sians were  first  assembled  in  the  Netherlands  under  Wel- 
lington and  Blucher ;  and  Napoleon,  at  the  head  of  150,000 
men,  advanced  against  them,  on  the  12th  of  June.  At 
Charleroi,  he  encountered  the  Prussians,  who,  after  great 
loss,  retreated  upon  Wavre,  where  they  were  followed  by 
the  French  right  wing  under  Grouchy.  On  the  next  day, 
the  left  division  of  the  French  army  had  a  severe  conflict 
with  the  English  and  Dutch  at  Quatre  Bras,  after  which 
the  British  division  retreated  to  Waterloo,  where,  meeting 
with  reinforcements,  was  fought  one  of  the  severest 
engagements  recorded  in  history.  The  French  ^o^ 
made  the  attack  about  noon,  and  persevered  with 
great  fury  during  the  whole  day.  About  four  in  the  after- 
noon, a  Prussian  army,  under  Bulow,  arrived  on  the  field, 
and  assisted  in  checking  the  impetuosity  of  the  French  ; 
at  seven  o'clock,  the  remainder  of  the  Prussians  under 
Blucher  arrived  from  Wavre  ;  and  assailing  the  French  on 
their  rear  to  the  right,  a  general  confusion  in  their  army 
took  place,  and  at  nine  o'clock  they  fled  in  disorder  to- 
wards Charleroi,  leaving  30,000  killed  and  wounded,  and 


468  HISTORY   OP   ENGLAND. 

all  their  cannon  and  materials  of  war  in  the  hands  of  the 
victors. 

The  Prussians  continued  the  pursuit  throughout  the 
night.  On  the  side  of  the  allies,  the  total  of  killed  and 
wounded  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  French,  and  among 
them  were  many  officers  of  distinction,  who  had  acquired 
great  celebrity  during  the  previous  wars. 

The  English  and  Prussian  armies  now  advanced  rapidly 
into  France,  and  invested  Paris,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
French  provisional  government  entered  into  a  convention. 
Louis  XVIII.,  who  in  the  interim  had  resided  at  Ghent, 
at  the  same  time  entered  his  capital;  and  though  there 
was  still  a  considerable  French  force  in  the  field  and  in 
garrisons,  it  was  reduced  to  submission  in  a  short  time  by 
the  armies  of  Austria  and  Russia,  which  had  also  pene- 
trated France. 

Meanwhile  Bonaparte,  who,  after  abdicating  at  Paris  in 
favour  of  his  son,  had  proceeded  to  Rochefort  for  the  pur- 
pose of  embarking  for  America,  finding  it  impracticable 
to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  British  cruisers,  went  volun- 
tarily on  board  a  British  man  of  war,  which  immediately 
sailed  for  Torbay.  The  decision  of  the  British  govern- 
ment, in  concert  with  the  allies,  was,  that  he  should  be 
conveyed  to  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  in  the  southern  At- 
lantic, there  to  reside  as  a  state  prisoner,  under  the  in- 
spection of  commissioners  appointed  by  each  of  the  con- 
federate powers. 

By  the  arrangements  of  the  congress,  to  which  lord  Cas- 
tlereagh  was  deputed  on  the  part  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, the  seven  Ionian  islands  were  placed  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Great  Britain ;  to  whose  sovereign  was  also  con- 
firmed the  title  of  king  of  Hanover. 

While  these  important  events  were  passing  in  Europe, 
the  arms  of  Britain  had  achieved  some  valuable  conquests 
in  Asia.  A  dispute  had  arisen  between  the  East  India 
Company  and  the  Nepaulese,  concerning  their  bounda- 
ries; and  the  Nepaulese,  who  were  a  brave  and  hardy 
race,  endeavoured  to  force  their  pretensions  by  the  sword ; 
but  they  were  overcome  by  the  British  troops,  directed  by 
the  marquis  of  Hastings,  and  the  whole  tract  of  territory 
in  dispute  was  ceded  to  the  East  India  Company. 

An  important  revolution  took  place  at  this  time  in  Cey- 
lon.   The  king  of  Candy,  who  possessed  the  interior  of 


GEORGE   III.  469 

the  island,  having  alienated  the  hearts  of  his  subjects  by  a 
series  of  cruelties,  arid  provoked  the  hostility  of  his  power- 
ful neighbours,  was  dethroned,  and  his  family  excluded 
from  the  crown.  A  treaty  was  signed  in  a  solemn  assem- 
bly of  adikars  and  other  chiefs  of  the  provinces,  by  which 
the  dominion  of  the  Candian  empire  was  vested  in  the  king 
of  Great  Britain,  with  a  reservation  to  those  chiefs  of  their 
rights  and  immunities. 

An  event,  which  gave  universal  satisfaction,  was  the 
marriage  of  the  princess  Charlotte  of  Wales,  pre- 
sumptive heiress  to  the  British  throne,  to  the  prince  101  ^ 
Leopold  of  Saxe  Cobourg.    A  naval  expedition  was 
this  year  undertaken  against  Algiers,  which  had  refused 
to  abolish  christian  slavery.     The  dey  commenced  hostili- 
ties by  the  seizure  and  imprisonment  of  the  British  vice- 
consul,  and  by  a  most  horrible  massacre  of  Christians  en- 
gaged in  the  coral  fishery  at  Bona.     Lord  Exmouth  at- 
tacked Algiers  with  a  formidable  armament ;  and  the  dey, 
after  a  tremendous  conflict,  was  compelled  to  accede  to 
the  terms  of  the  English  admiral. 

In  England,  great  distress  prevailed,  particularly  in  the 
manufacturing  districts,  in  which  the  people  suffered  from 
a  depreciation  of  wages,  consequent  on  an  almost  total 
stagnation  of  trade.  The  public  mind  was  agitated  by 
rumours  of  plots  and  conspiracies  ;  and  at  Derby,  a  num- 
ber of  persons  were  tried  for  high  treason,  and  three  of 
them  being  found  guilty,  underwent  the  dreadful  sentence 
of  the  law. 

The  hopes  founded  on  the  happy  union  of  the  prince 
regent's  only  daughter  with  the  prince  of  Cobourg,  were 
fatally  blighted  on  the  6th  of  November,  by  the 
death  of  that  amiable  princess,  at  a  short  period  -i'q^ 
after  her  delivery  of  a  still-born  male  infant,  to  the 
unspeakable  grief  of  the  royal  family,  and  the  general  sor- 
row of  the  whole  nation. 

After  a  long  and  severe  illness,  queen  Charlotte,  con- 
sort of  George  III.,  died  on  the  17th  of  November.     In 
consequence  of  her  death,,  the  duke  of  York  was 
appointed  guardian  of  the  king's  person,  with  a  \'o?o 
salary  of  ten  thousand  pounds  a  year. 

The  spirit  of  discontent,  which  had  already  appeared  hi 
the  manufacturing  districts,  now  became  alarming.      A 
meeting  of  the  people  was  held  at  Manchester,  on  the  16tk 
40 


470  HISTORY  OP    ENGLAND. 

of  August,  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  for  a  reform  in 
parliament,  to  the  number  of  60,000,  carrying  va- 
1cio  ri°us  banners.     Mr.  Hunt,  the  chairman,  and  some 
others,  were  arrested  on  the  hustings,  and  a  party 
of  yeomanry  cavalry  beginning  to  strike  down  the 'banners, 
a  scene  of  dreadful  confusion  arose  ;  numbers  were  tram- 
pled under  the  feet  of  men  and  horses ;    many  persons, 
even  females,  were  cut  down  by  sabres  ;  some  were  killed, 
and  between  three  and  four  hundred  were  wounded  and 
maimed.     The  interference  of  an  armed  yeomanry  for  the 
prevention  rather  than  for  the  suppression  of  riot,  produ- 
ced a  strong  sensation  throughout  the  country ;  and  ad- 
dresses on  this  unfortunate  affair  were  prepared  in  the 
principal  cities  and  towns  in  the  kingdom. 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  it  was  announced,  that  the 
bodily  health  of  the  king  had  partaken  of  some  of  the  in- 
firmities of  age;  and  on  Saturday,  the  29th  of  January, 
at  thirty-five  minutes  past  eight  in  the  evening,  his 
-lOQCk  majesty  expired  without  a  struggle,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age.     Thus  terminated,  in  its 
sixtieth  year,  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  a  sovereign 
who  deserved  to  be  emphatically  styled  the  father  of  his 
people.     Their  loyalty  and  affection  were  always  consi- 
dered by  him  as  the  best  and  most  permanent  security  of 
his  throne ;  and  by  his  own  example,  he  promoted  among 
them  the  practice  of  those  duties  which  alone  could  enable 
them  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
as  guarantied   by   the   constitution.     His  habitual  piety, 
and  constant  trust  in  Providence,  greatly  strengthened  the 
natural  courage  and  firmness  which  he  possessed,  and  for 
which,  on  occasions  of  personal  danger,  he  was  so  emi- 
nently distinguished.     If,  in  matters  of  state  policy,  he 
sometimes   evinced    a   tenaciousness   of  purpose,   which 
seemed  to  border  on  obstinacy,  this  must  be  attributed  to 
his  strong  sense  of  the  obligation  under  which  he  consi- 
dered himself  bound,  in  discharge  of  the  important  trust 
committed  to  him.     He  was  punctually  assiduous  in  the 
exercise  of  his  royal  functions,  and  exemplary  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  all  the  social  duties.     Temperance  and  exercise 
secured  to  him  for  a  long  period  the  enjoyment  of  unin- 
terrupted health.     The  English  sceptre  may  have  been 
swayed  by  sovereigns  endowed  with  more  splendid  quali- 
ties than  those  of  George  the  Third ;  but  it  may  be  greatly 


GEORGE  IV.  471 

doubted  whether  any  of  his  predecessors,  since  Edward 
the  sixth,  has  borne  his  faculties  so  meekly,  or  been  "  so 
clear  in  his  great  office." 

CHAP.  XXIV. 

The  reign  of  George  IV. 

On  the  death  of  the  late  king,  his  eldest  son,  George 
prince  of  Wales,  who,  since  the  beginning  of  1811,  had 
acted  as  regent  of  the  united  kingdom,  ascended  the 
throne ;  and,  on  the  31st  of  January,  George  the 
fourth  was  publicly  proclaimed.  For  nine  years  iqoq 
he  had  governed  the  kingdom ;  and,  during  that 
time,  the  period  had  been  irradiated  with  military  renown. 
No  sovereign,  ancient  or  modem,  can  perhaps  display, 
within  so  short  a  time,  such  a  series  of  events  as  occurred 
during  the  exercise  of  the  royal  functions  by  the  prince 
regent.  When  he  took  the  reins  of  government,  the  situa- 
tion of  Europe  was  adverse  to  the  policy  of  Great  Britain, 
and  prospects  were  by  no  means  cheering.  The  power 
of  Napoleon  seemed  strongly  consolidated  by  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  continent ;  but  scarcely  was  unrestricted  au- 
thority given  to  the  prince,  than  Napoleon  undertook  his 
gigantic  and  disastrous  expedition  into  Russia,  which  led 
to  corresponding  reverses  in  Spain,  and  by  successive  vic- 
tories of  the  British  and  Spanish  armies. 

About  this  time  several  obscure  individuals,  at  the  head 
of  whom  was  Arthur  Thjstlewood,  entered  into  a  conspi- 
racy to  assassinate  the  king's  ministers,  at  a  cabinet  din- 
ner, and  for  this  purpose  they  met  in  a  stable  loft  in  Cato- 
street ;  but  the  plot  having  been  revealed  to  the  privy- 
Council  by  one  who  had  been  associated  with  them  for  the 
purpose  of  betraying  their  designs,  they  were  apprehended, 
and  five  of  them  were  convicted  and  executed. 

The  unhappy  differences  that  existed  between  the  pre- 
sent sovereign  and  his  royal  consort,  have  been  noticed  in 
the  preceding  reign.  In  1814,  her  royal  highness  embark- 
ed at  Worthing,  and  after  paying  a  visit  to  her  brother  at 
the  court  of  Brunswick,  she  proceeded  to  Italy,  every 
where  receiving  the  honours  due  to  h$r  rank.  On  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  she  fixed  her  residence  at  Naples.  She 
afterwards  travelled  through  various  parts  of  the  conti- 


472  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

nent,  visited  Jerusalem  and  other  towns  of  Palestine,  as 
well  as  different  places  in  the  Mediterranean. 

On  the  accession  of  the  present  king,  in  consequence  of 
the  manner  in  which  she  had  conducted  herself  after  leav- 
ing England,  her  majesty's  name  was  erased  out  of  the 
liturgy  ;  and  she  was  informed,  that  if  she  returned  to  this 
country,  judicial  proceedings  would  be  instituted  against 
her ;  but  if  she  would  consent  to  live  abroad,  the  sum  of  fifty 
thousand  pounds  a  year  would  be  allowed  her.  No  sooner, 
however,  was  this  proposition  made  to  her,  than  the  queen 
immediately  proceeded  to  Calais,  accompanied  by  lady 
Anne  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Alderman  Wood ;  and  embarking 
on  board  a  packet  boat  which  lay  in  the  harbour,  she  sail- 
ed for  England,  and  on  the  5th  of  June  landed  at  Dover, 
where  she  was  greeted  by  acclamations  of  the  populace. 

On  the  day  of  her  majesty's  arrival  in  London,  the  king 
sent  a  message  to  parliament,  requesting  that  an  inquiry 
into  the  queen's  conduct  might  be  instituted,  and  that  cer- 
tain papers,  containing  the  evidence  which  had  been  col- 
lected at  Milan,  might  be  examined.  On  this  evidence,  it 
was  intended  to  found  a  bill  of  pains  and  penalties  against 
the  queen.  After  much  discussion,  a  secret  committee  of 
the  house  of  lords  was  appointed  to  examine  the  documents ; 
and  it  was  fully  determined,  that  her  majesty  should  be  tried 
by  the  peers  of  the  realm. 

During  the  queen's  trial,  which  continued  for  forty-five 
days,  the  public  mind  was  violently  agitated,  and 
1820  tne  sP^r't  °f  Partv  extreme.     It  was  urged  against 
the  queen,  that  she  had  raised  a  favourite   Italian 
in  her  employment  from  a  menial  station  to  one  of  rank 
and  honour ;  that  she  had  permitted  him  to  take  familiari- 
ties with  her ;  that,  having  instituted  a  new  order  of  knight- 
hood, called   "  the  order  of  St.  Caroline,"  she  had  deco- 
rated him  with  its  insignia ;    and  that  she  had  otherwise 
demeaned  herself  in  a  manner  unbecoming  the  character 
and  conduct  of  a  British  princess.     A  very  small  majority 
of  the  lords  having  declared  her  guilty,  the  bill  was,  on  the 
10th  of  November,  formally  withdrawn. 

This  year,  revolutions  took  place  both  in  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, with  little  or  no  bloodshed ;  and  the  despotic  govern- 
ments in  the  peninsula  were  changed  for  others  of  a  more 
popular  form. 


GEORGE  IV.  473 

Napoleon,  the  ex-emperor  of  France,  died  on  the 
5th  of  May,  in  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  where  he  ^f 
had  been  detained  a  close  state  prisoner  since  his 
surrender  in  1815  to  the  English  government. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  the  ceremony  of  the  coro- 
nation of  George  the  fourth  took  place  in  West-  -g„  * 
minster  Abbey.  The  greatest  preparations  had  been 
made  to  celebrate  it  with  becoming  splendour ;    and  Lon- 
don never  before  contained  such  an  assemblage  of  rank 
and  fashion.  This  national  ceremony  was  conducted  with 
a  magnificence  never  equalled  on  any  former  occasion,  and 
with  a  degree  of  order  and  decorum  highly  creditable  to 
those  by  whom  the  management  was  superintended. 

The  reader  has,  therefore,  been  conducted  in  this  volume 
through  a  period  of  nearly  two  thousand  years.  He 
found  these  islands  inhabited  by  tribes  of  naked  savages, 
and  leaves  them  in  possession  of  the  most  civilized  peo- 
ple on  earth,  renowned  in  arts,  arms,  commerce,  and 
agriculture. 

He  has  seen  them  a  prey  to  Roman  ambition  ;  while, 
during  the  last  war,  Rome  itself  was  captured  and  occu- 
pied even  by  a  small  division  of  British  troops  !  He  has 
beheld  them  without  ships  to  oppose  the  invasions  of  the 
Romans,  the  Saxons,  the  Danes,  and  the  Normans,  and 
he  now  finds  them  great  on  every  ocean  ;  and  their  com- 
mercial shipping  covering  all  seas  under  the  protection  of 
a  flag  every  where  respected. 

He  found  their  rude  population  governed  by  chiefs  of 
small  tribes  or  clansj  and  has  beheld  these  extended  to 
seven  kingdoms  in  England,  two  in  Wales,  one  in  Scot- 
land, and  three  in  Ireland ;  till,  after  successive  contests 
of  power  and  patriotism,  the  whole  have  been  united  un- 
der one  Sovereign,  whose  dominion  reaches  through  nu- 
merous colonies  to  every  clime  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world. 

He  was  first  introduced  to  such  people  as  now  inhabit 
the  woods  of  America,  in  a  country  equally  covered  with 
woods,  and  living  in  huts  and  caverns  ;  but  in  1820,  he 
finds  a  country  of  matchless  cultivation,  abounding  in 
all  social  improvements,  affording  examples  to  other  na- 
tions of  the  arts  of  Life,  and  filled  with  splendid  cities, 
palaces,  and  public  edifices.  He  finds  pastures  in 
place  of  forests,  enclosed  corn  fields  once  barren 
40* 


474  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

heaths,  and  roads  and  canals  uniting  that  country,  as 
one  whole,  which,  in  the  commencement  of  this  History, 
was  in  every  direction  impassable. 

In  place,  too,  of  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  strongest, 
and  the  law  of  the  most  daring,  he  has  traced  the  gradual 
developement  of  a  system  of  equal  justice,  and  the  heroic 
conquest  of  mind  over  brutal  strength  in  the  firnf  establish- 
ment of  a  political  constitution,  which,  when  equally 
balanced  in  its  three  estates,  will  merit  the  admiration  of 
the  world,  and  the  gratitude  of  the  people  who  are  its  for- 
tunate subjects. 

Above  all,  he  has  seen  the  darkest  superstitions  of 
savage  life  yield  successively  to  the  lights  of  Christiani- 
ty— and  the  abuses  of  the  Romish  Church  corrected  by  a 
reformed  establishment,  which,  tolerating  every  variety 
of  opinion,  enables  all  to  enjoy  perfect  freedom  of  con- 
science, and  corresponding  modes  of  worship. 

During  this  glorious  career  of  humanity,  the  destinies  of 
the  nation  have  been  directed  by  branches  of  the  same 
family.  From  Hengist,  who  married  the  daughter  of 
Vortigern,  we  trace  this  family  to  Edmond  Ironside  ; 
and  from  him,  amid  various  struggles  of  virtue  and  vice, 
through  the  Norman,  Plantagenet,  Tudor,  and  Stuart 
families,  down  to  the  reigning  house  of  Guelph,  in  the 
person  of  George  the  Fourth. 


the  end. 


Five  hundred  questions  have  been  prepared ,  to  adapt 
this  volume  to  the  interrogative  system  of  instruction. 


I. 

SUCCESSION  OF  SOVEREIGNS. 


THE  SAXON  HEPTARCHY. 

The  kingdom  of  Kent  contained  only  the  county  of  Kent ;  its 
kings  were, 

.     454     10  Edrick 684 

.     488    11  Withdred    ....  685 

.     512    1f>    <  Eadbertand> 

.     534    iZ    }Edelbert       \    ' 

.     568    13  Edelbert  alone      .     .  743 

.     616    14  Adric 760 

.     640     15  Ethelbert  Pren     .     .  794 

.     664    16  Cudred  .....  799 

.     673     17  Baldred 805 


1  Hengist,  began 

2  Eske      . 

3  Octa  .     . 

4  Ymbrick 

5  Ethelbert 

6  Edbald   . 

7  Ercombert 

8  Egbert   . 

9  Lothaire 


725 


This  kingdom  began  454,  ended  823. 
was  Ethelbert. 


Its  first  christian  king 


The  kingdom  of  South  Saxons  contained  the  counties  of  Sussex 
and  Surrey ;  its  kings  were, 


Ella,  began 
Cissa      .     . 
Chevelin     . 
Ceolwic 
Ceoluph 


491 
514 

590 
592 
597 


Cinigsil 
Quicelm 
Canowalch 
8  Adelwach 


{ Cinigsil     > 
I  Quicelm    > 


611 

643 
648 


This  kingdom  began  491,  ended  685. 
was  Adelwach. 


Its  first  christian  king 


The  kingdom  of  East  Saxons  contained  the  counties  of  Essex 
and  Middlesex ;  its  kings  were, 


Erchenwin,  began     .     527 

Sledda 587 

Sebert 598 

SSexred 
Seward 
Sigebert 
Sigebert  the  Little 
Sigebert  the  Good 
Swithelme 


'(:': 


616 

623 
653 
655 


8  Sighere  and  Sebbi 

9  Sebbi      .     .     .     . 
i  Sigherd  and 
I  Seofrid 

11  Offa  .     .     . 

12  Ceolfred      . 

13  Suithred      . 


10 


665 
693 

694 

700 
709 
746 


14  Sigered 799 


This  kingdom  began  527,  ended  827. 
was  Sebert, 


Its  first  christian  king 


I 


476  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  kingdom  of  Northumberland  contained  the  counties  oi 
Yorkshire,  Durham,  Lancashire,  Westmoreland,  Cumberland, 
and  tNorthumberland ;  its  kings  were, 


1  Ella,  or  Ida,  began 

2  Adda      . 

3  Clappea 

4  Theodwald 

5  Fridulph 

6  Theodorick 

7  Athelrick 

8  Athelfrid 

9  Edwin    . 

10  Osric      . 

11  Oswald  . 

12  Oswy     . 

13  Ethelward 

14  Egfrid    . 

15  Alkfryd  . 

16  Osred  I. 


547 
559 
565 
572 
573 
579 
586 
-593 
617 
633 
634 
643 
653 
670 
685 
705  i 


17  Cenred 716 

18  Osrick 718 

19  Ceolulphe  ....  730 

20  Egbert 737 

21  Oswulph     ....  758 

22  Edildwald  ....  759 

23  Alured 765 

24  Atheldred    ....  774 

25  Alswald  1 779 

26  Osred  II 789 

27  Atheldred  restored    .  790 

28  Osbald 7% 

29  Ardulph      ....  797 

30  Alswald  II.      ...  807 

31  Andred 810 


This  kingdom  began  547,  ended  827.     Its  first  christian  king 
was  Edwin. 


The  kingdom  of  Mercia  contained  the  counties  of  Huntingdon, 
Rutland,  Lincoln,  Northampton,  Leicester,  Derby,  Notting- 
ham, Oxford,  Chester,  Salop,  Gloucester,  Worcester,  Stafford, 


Warwick,  Buckingham,  Bedford,  and  Hertford 


1  Creda,  bega 

2  Wibba    .     . 

3  Cheorlas 

4  Penda     . 

5  Peada     . 

6  Wolfhere 

7  Ethelred 

8  Kenred  . 

9  Ceolred  . 

n 

.    582 

.     595 

.    616 

.     625. 

.     656 

.    659 

.     .     675 

.     . '  704 

,   .     709 

its  kings  were, 
.    716 


This  kingdom  began  582,  ended  827 
was  Peada. 


10  Ethelbald    .     .     . 

11  Otfa 757 

12  Egfryd 794 

13  Cenolf 795 

14  Kenelme     ....  819 

15  Ceolwolf     ....  819 

16  Burnulf 821 

17  Ludecan      ....  823 

18  Wiglafe 825 

Its  first  christian  king 


The  kingdom  of  East  Angles  contained  the  counties  of  Suffolk, 
Norfolk,  Cambridge,  and  the  isle  of  Ely ;  its  kings  were, 

1  Uffa,  began 

2  Titillus  .- 
Redwald 
Erpinwald 
Sigebert 

S  Egrik 

\  Annas 

Ethelhere 


575 

578 
599 
624 
636 

644 

654 


8  Ethwald      . 

9  Adwulf  .     . 
10  Alswald .     . 

Beorna  and 
Ethelbert 

12  Beorna  alone 

13  Ethelred     . 

14  Ethelbert    . 


LI 


659 
664 

683 

749 

758 
761 
790 


This  kingdom  began  575,  ended  792. 
was  Redwald. 


Its  first  christian  king 


APPENDIX.  477 

The  kingdom  of  West  Saxons  contained  the  counties  of  Corn- 
wall, Devon,  Dorset.  Somerset,  Wilts,  Hants,  and  Berks ;  its 
kings  were, 


1  Cherdic,  began     .     .  519 

2  Kenrick 534 

3  Chevline     ....  560 

4  Ceolric 592 

5  Ceoluph      ....  598 

•132&.J  •  •  6» 

7  Ceonowalch     .     .     .  643 

8  Adelwalch  ....  648 

9  Sexburga    ....  672 


1A    <  Censua,  Escwin,  )  an  a 

10  KndCentwin         \  674 

11  Ceadwald    ....  686 

12  Ina 688 

13  Adelard 726 

14  Cudred 740 

i  <\    S  Sigebert  and   )  7*4 

lo    jCenulf             \       '  754 

16  Brithnck     ....  784 

17  Egbert 800 


This  kingdom  began  519,  ended  828.     Its  first  christian  king 
was  Kingills. 

The  Saxons,  though  they  were  divided  into  seven  kingdoms, 

were,  for  the  mostpart,  subject  only  to  one  monarch,  who  was 

styled  king  of  the  English  nation ;  the  most  powerful  giving  the 

law  unto  the  others,  and  succeeded  as  follows  : 

HENGIST,  first  monarch  of  Britain,  landed  in  the  Isle  of 
Thanet,  449 ;  laid  the  foundation  of  the  monarchy  in  455 ;  de- 
feated Vortimer  at  Crayford,  in  Jan.  457;  massacred  300  Bri- 
tish nobles  on  Salisbury  plain,  May  1,  474.  He  bore  in  hig 
standard  the'white  horse,  blazoned  in  the  same  manner  as  now 
borne  by  the  dukes  of  Brunswick.  He  was  born  at  Angria,  in 
Westphalia,  reigned  34  years,  died  in  484. 

ELLA,  second  monarch,  landed  at  Shoreham,  in  Sussex,  in 
477 ;  assumed  the  title  of  king  of  the  South  Saxons  in  491 ; 
died  in  499. 

CHERDIC,  third  monarch,  arrived  in  Britain,  and  overcame 
Arthur,  near  Chard,  in  Somersetshire,  519:  began  the  king- 
dom of  the  West  Saxons  the  same  year  ;  died  in  534. 

KENRICK,  second  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  fourth  monarch, 
eldest  son  of  Cherdic,  succeeded  in  534 ;  and  died  in  560. 

CHEVEL1NE,  third  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  and  fifth  mo- 
narch, succeeded  his  father,  560;  seized  on  Sussex  in  590; 
abdicated  in  591 ;  and  died,  in  banishment,  in  592. 

ETHELBERT  I.,  fifth  king  of  Kent,  and  sixth  monarch,  in 
592;  St.  Augustine  first  arrived  in  his  dominions,  who,  with 
his  followers,  were  entertained  by  the  king  at  Canterbury, 
where  they  settled  ;  to  whose  doctrine  Ethelbert  became  a 
convert,  lie  gave  Augustine  an  idol  temple,  without  the 
walls  of  the  city,  as  a  burial  place  for  him  and  his  successors, 
which  was  converted  into  the  first  monastery.  The  king  was 
the  first  that  caused  the  laws  of  the  land  to  be  collected  and 
translated  into  Saxon.  He  died  Feb.  24,  617,  and  was  buried 
at  Canterbury. 
REDWALD,  third  king  of  the  East  Angles,  seventh  monarch, 

616 ;  he  died  624. 
EDWIN  the  Great,  king  of  Northumberland,  succeeded  as 
eighth  monarch  in  624.    He  was  the  first  christian,  and  the 


478  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

second  king  of  Northumberland.  He  lost  his  life  in  a  battle 
at  Hatfield,  Oct.  3,  633. 

OSWALD,  third  king  of  Northumberland,  and  ninth  monarch, 
634.     He  was  slain  at  Maserfield,  in  Shropshire,  Aug.  1,  642. 

OSWY,  fourth  king  of  Northumberland,  tenth  monarch,  on  Oct. 
13,  634.  He  defeated  Penda,  the  Mercian,  and  Ethelred, 
king  of  the  East  Angles,  Nov.  6,  655.     He  died  Feb.  15,  670. 

WOLFHERE,  sixth  king  of  the  Mercians,  eleventh  monarch, 
in  670 ;  died  674,  and  was  buried  at  Peterborough. 

ETHELRED,  seventh  king  of  Mercia,  and  twelfth  monarch,  in 
675.  He  desolated  part  of  Kent,  and,  in  677,  destroyed  Ro- 
chester, and  many  religious  foundations ;  to  atone  for  which  he 
became  a  monk,  703,  and  died  abbot  of  Bradney,  in  716. 

CENRED,  his  nephew,  eighth  king  of  Mercia,  and  thirteenth 
monarch,  in  704,  reigned  four  years,  and  following  his  uncle's 
example,  became  a  monk. 

CEOLRED,  son  to  Ethelred,  ninth  king  of  the  Mercians,  and 
fourteenth  monarch,  in  709,  was  killed  in  battle  with  the  West 
Saxons,  in  716  ;  and  was  buried  at  Litchfield. 

ETHELBALD  1.,  tenth  king  of  the  Mercians,  fifteenth  mo- 
narch, in  716;  built  Croyland  abbev,  in  Lincolnshire.  He  was 
slain  by  his  own  subjects,  when  lie  was  leading  his  troops 
against  Cuthred,  the  West  Saxon,  at  Secondine,  three  miles 
from  Tamworth,  in  Warwickshire,  and  was  buried  at  Repton, 
in  Derbyshire,  in  756. 

OFF  A,  the  eleventh  king  of  the  Mercians,  and  the  sixteenth 
monarch,  756.  He  was  born  lame,  deaf,  and  blind,  which  con- 
tinued till  he  arrived  at  manhood.  He  took  up  arms  against 
Kent,  slew  their  king  at  Otteford.  and  conquered  that  king- 
dom. He  caused  a  great  trench  to  be  dug  from  Bristol  to 
Basingwerk,  in  Flintshire,  as  the  boundary  of  the  Britons, 
who  harboured  in  Wales,  774.  Offa  first  ordained  the  sound- 
ing of  trumpets  before  the  kings  of  England,  to  denote  their 

*  appearance,  and  require  respect.  He  admitted  his  son,  Eg- 
fryd,  a  partner  in  his  sovereignty  ;  and,  out  of  devotion,  paid 
a  visit  to  Rome,  where  he  made  his  kingdom  subject  to  a  tri- 
bute, then  called  Peter-pence,  and  procured  the  canonization 
of  St.  Alba-.  At  his  return  he  built  St.  Alban's  monastery, 
in  Hertfordshire,  793.  He  died  at  Offley,  June  29,  794,  and 
was  buried  at  Bedford,  in  a  chapel  since  swallowed  up  by  the 
river  Ouse. 

EGFRYD,  twelfth  king  of  the  Mercians,  and  seventeenth  mo- 
narch, July  13,  794;  but  died  Dec.  17  following,  and  was  bu- 
ried at  St.  Alban's. 

CENOLE,  thirteenth  king  of  the  Mercians,  and  eighteenth  mo- 
narch, in  795.  He  conquered  Kent,  and  gave  that  kingdom 
to  Cudred,  798.  He  built  Winchcomb  monastery,  in  Glou- 
cestershire, where  he  led  the  captive  prince,  Pren,  to  the  altar, 
and  released  him  without  ransom  or  entreaty.  He  died  in  819, 
and  was  buried  at  Winchcomb. 

EGBERT,  seventeenth  king  of  the  WTest  Saxons,  and  nine- 
teenth, but  first  sole  monarch,  of  the  English.   He  conquered 


APPENDIX.  479 


Kent,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  sole  monarchy  in  823, 
which  put  an  end  to  the  Saxon  heptarchy,  and  was  solemnly 
crowned  at  Winchester ;  when,  by  his  edict,  he  ordered  all  the 
south  of  the  island  to  be  called  England,  827.  He  died  Feb. 
4,  837,  and  was  buried  at  Winchester. 

ETHELWOLF,  eldest  son  of  Egbert,  succeeded  his  father, 
notwithstanding  at  the  time  of  Egbert's  death  he  was  bishop 
of  Winchester.  In  846  he  ordained  tithes  to  be  collected,  and 
exempted  the  clergy  from  regal  tributes.  He  risked  Rome  in 
847,  confirming  the  grant  of  Peter-pence,  and  agreed  to  pay 
Rome  300  marks  per  annum.  His  son  Ethelbald  obliged  nim 
to  divide  the  sovereignty  with  him,  856.  He  died  Jan.  13,  857, 
and  was  buried  at  Winchester. 

ETHELBALD  II.,  eldest  son  of  Ethelwolf,  succeeded  in  857. 
He  died  Dec.  20,  860,  and  was  buried  at  Sherborn,  but  remo- 
ved to  Salisbury. 

JQTHELBERT  II.,  second  son  of  Ethelwolf,  succeeded  in  860, 
and  was  harassed  greatly  by  the  Danes,  who  wer»  repulsed 
and  vanquished.  He  died  in  866,  was  buried  at  Sherborn, 
and  was  succeeded  by 

ETHELRED  I.,  third  son  of  Ethelwolf,  in  866,  when  the  Danes 
again  harassed  his  kingdom.  In  889,  they  destroyed  the  mo- 
nasteries of  Bradney,  Crowland,  Peterborough,  Ely,  and 
Huntingdon,  when  the  nuns  of  Coldingham  defaced  them- 
selves to  avoid  their  pollution ;  and,  in  East  Anglia,  they  mur- 
dered Edmund,  at  Edmundsbury,  in  Suffolk.  Ethelred  over- 
threw the  Danes,  871,  at  Assendon.  He  had  nine  set  battles 
with  the  Danes  in  one  year,  and  was  wounded  at  Wittingham, 
which  occasioned  his  death,  April  27,  872,  and  was  buried  at 
Winborne,  in  Dorsetshire. 

ALFRED,  the  fourth  son  of  Ethelwolf,  succeeded  in  872,  in  the 
22d  year  of  his  age  :  was  crowned  at  Winchester,  and  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  title  of  Alfred  the  Great.  He  was  born  at 
Wantage,  in  Berkshire,  849,'  and  obliged  to  take  the  field 
against  the  Danes  within  one  month  after  his  coronation,  at 
Wilton,  in  Oxfordshire.  He  fought  seven  battles  with  them 
in  876.  In  877  another  succour  of  Danes  arrived,  and  Alfred 
was  obliged  to  disguise  himself  in  the  habit  of  a  shepherd,  in 
the  isle  of  Alderr>ey,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  till,  in  878, 
collecting  his  scattered  friends,  he  attacked  and  defeated  them 
in  879,  when  he  obliged  the  greatest  part  of  their  army  to  quit 
the  land;  in  897  they  went  up  the  river  Lea,  and  built  a  tor- 
tress  at  Ware,  where  king  Alfred  turned  off  the  course  of  the 
river,  and  left  their  ships  dry,  which  obliged  the  Danes  to  re- 
move.    He  died  Oct.  28,  901. 

EDWARD  the  Elder,  his  son,  succeeded  him,  and  was  crown- 
ed at  Kingston  -upon-Thames,  in  901.  In  911,  Leolin,  prince 
of  Wales,  did  homage  to  Edward  for  his  principality.  He 
died  at  Farringdon,  in  Berkshire,  in  924,  and  was  buried  at 
Winchester. 

ATHELSTAN,  his  eldest  son,  succeeded  him,  and  was  crown- 
ed with  far  greater  magnificence  than  usual,  at  Kingston-upon- 


480  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Thames,  in  929.  In  938  he  defeated  two  Welsh  princes,  but 
soon  after,  on  their  making  submission,  he  restored  them  their 
estates.  He  escaped  being  assassinated  in  his  tent,  938,  which 
he  revenged  by  attacking  the  enemy,  when  five  petty  sove- 
reigns, twelve  dukes,  and  an  army  who  came  to  the  assistance 
of  Analf,  king  of  Ireland,  were  slain ;  which  battle  was  fought 
near  Dunbar,  in  Scotland.  He  made  the  princes  of  Wales  tri- 
butary, 939 ;  and  died  Oct.  17,  940,  at  Gloucester. 

EDMUND  I.,  the  fifth  son  of  Edward  the  elder,  succeeded  at 
the  age  of  18,  and  was  crowned  king  at  Kingston-upon- 
Thames,  940.  On  May  26,  947,  in  endeavouring  to  part  two 
who  were  quarrelling,  he  received  a  wound,  of  which  he  bled 
to  death,  and  was  buritd  at  Glastonbury. 

EDRED,  his  brother,  aged  28,  succeeded  in  947,  and  was  crown- 
ed at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  the  17th  of  August.  He  died 
in  955,  and  was  buried  at  Winchester. 

EDWY,  the  eldest  son  of  Edmund,  succeeded,  and  was  crowned 
at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  in  955.  He  had  great  dissensions 
with  the  clergy,  and  banished  Dunstan,  their  ringleader,  which 
occasions  little  credit  to  be  given  to  the  character  the  priests 
give  him.  He  died  of  grief  in  959,  after  a  turbulent  reign  of 
four  years,  and  was  buried  at  Winchester. 

EDGAR,  at  the  age  of  16,  succeeded  his  brother,  and  was  crown- 
ed at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  in  959,  and  again  at  Bath,  972. 
He  imposed  upon  the  princes  of  Wales  a  tribute  of  wolves' 
heads,  that  for  three  years  amounted  to  300  each  year.  He 
obliged  eight  tributary  princes  to  row  him  in  a  barge  on  the 
river  Dee,  in  974.  He  died  July  1,  975,  and  was  buried  at 
Glastonbury. 

EDWARD  the  Martyr,  his  eldest  son,  succeeded  him,  being  but 
16  years  of  age  ;  was  crowned  by  Dunstan,  at  Kingston-upon- 
Thames,  in  975.  He  was  stabbed  by  the  instructions  of  his 
mother-in-law,  as  he  was  drinking  at  Corfe-castle,  in  the  isle 
of  Purbeck,  in  Dorsetshire,  on  March  18,  979.  He  was  first 
buried  at  Wareham,  without  any  ceremony,  but  removed  three 
years  after,  in  great  pomp,  to  Shaftsbury. 

ETHELRED  II.  succeeded  his  half-brother,  and  was  crowned 
at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  oh  April  14,  979.  In  982,  his 
palace,  with  great  part  of  London,  was  destroyed  by  a  great 
fire.  England  was  ravaged  by  the  Danes,  who,  in  999,  re- 
ceived at  one  payment  about  £16.000,  raised  by  a  land-tax  call- 
ed Danegelt.  A  general  massacre  of  the  Danes,  on  Nov.  13, 
1002.  Sweyn  revenged  his  countrymen's  deaths,  1003,  and  did 
not  quit  the  kingdom  till  Ethelred  had  paid  him  £36,000,  which 
he  the  year  following  demanded  as  an  annual  tribute.  In  the 
spring  of  1008  they  subdued  great  part  of  the  kingdom.  To 
stop  their  progress,  it  was  agreed  to  pay  the  Danes  £48,000,  to 
quit  the  kingdom,  1012.  In  the  space  of  twenty  years  they 
had  £469,687  sterling.  Soon  after  Sweyn  entered  the  Hum- 
ber  again,  when  Ethelred  retired  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and 
sent  his  sons,  with  their  mother  Emma,  into  Normandy,  to  her 
brother,  and  Sweyn  took  possession  of  the  whole  kingdom,  1013. 


APPENDIX.  481 

SWEYN  was  proclaimed  king  of  England  in  1013,  and  no  per- 
son disputed  nis  title.  His  first  act  of  sovereignty  was  an  insup- 
portable tax,  which  he  did  not  live  to  see  collected.  He  died 
Feb.  3,  1014,  at  Thetford,  in  Norfolk. 

CANUTE,  his  son,  was  proclaimed  March,  1014,  and  endea- 
voured to  gain  the  affections  of  his  English  subjects,  but  without 
success,  retired  to  Denmark,  and 

BTHELRED  returned,  at  the  invitation  of  his  subjects.  Canute 
returned,  1015,  soon  after  he  had  left  England,  and  landed  at 
Sandwich.  Ethelred  retired  to  the  north,  but  by  evading  a 
battle  with  the  Danes,  he  lost  the  affections  of  his  subjects,  and 
retiring  to  London,  he  expired  April  24,  1016. 

EDMUND  IRONSIDE,  his  son,  was  crowned  at  Kingston- 
upon-Thames,  April,  1016 ;  but  by  a  disagreement  among  the 
nobility,  Canute  was  also  crowned  at  Southampton.  In  June 
following,  Canute  totally  routed  Edmund,  at  Assendon,  in  Es- 
sex, who  soon  after  met  Canute  in  the  Isle  of  Alderney,  in  the 
Severn,  where  a  peace  was  concluded,  and  the  kingdom  divided 
between  them.  Edmund  did  not  survive  above  a  month  after, 
being  murdered  at  Oxford,  Nov.  30,  1016,  before  he  had  reign- 
ed a  year.  He  left  two  sons  and  two  daughters  ;  from  one  of 
which  daughters  James  I.  of  England  descended,  and  from  him 
George  IV. 

CANUTE  was  established  1017 ;  made  an  alliance  with  Nor- 
mandy, and  married  Emma,  Ethelred's  widow,  1018;  made  it- 
voyage  to  Denmark,  attacked  Norway,  and  took  possession  of 
the  crown,  1028 ;  died  at  Shaftsbury,  1036 ;  and  was  buried 
fit  W ifionpsf t*r 

HAROLD  I.  his  son,  began  his  reign,  1036:  died  April  14, 1039, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  younger  brother, 

HARDICANUTE,  king  of  Denmark,  who  died  at  Lambeth, 
1041 ;  was  buried  at  New-Winchester,  and  succeeded  by  a  son 
of  Queen  Emma,  by  her  first  husband,  Ethelred  II. 

BDWARD  the  Confessor  was  born  at  Islip,  in  'Oxfordshire,  be- 

fan  his  reign  in  the  40th  year  of  his  age.  He  was  crowned  at 
Winchester,  1042 ;  married  Editha,  daughter  of  Godwin,  earl 
of  Kent,  1043 ;  remitted  the  tax  of  Danegelt,  and  was  the  first 
king  of  England  that  touched  for  the  king's  evil,  1058 ;  diec? 
Jan.  5,  1066,  aged  65;  was  buried  in  Westminster-abbey,  whick 
he  rebuilt,  where  his  bones  were  enshrined  in  gold,  set  with 
jewels  1206.  Emma,  his  mother,  died  1052.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by 
HAROLD  II.  son  of  the  earl  of  Kent,  who  began  in  1066;  de- 
feated by  his  brother  Tosti  and  the  king  of  Norway,  who  had 
invaded  his  dominions,  at  Stamford,  Sept.  25,  1066;  but  was* 
killed  by  the  Normans  at  Hastings,  Oct.  14  following. 
41 


SOVEREIGNS  FROM  THE  CONQUEST. 


Norman  Family. 

King*'  Name*. 

Began  their 
Reign. 

Reigned 
Y.  M.  D. 

Age 

Deathi. 

Where  buried*. 

W.  Conq. 
W.  Rufus 
Henry       .     .     1 
6tephen 

1066  Oct.             14 
1087  Sept.             9 
1100  Aug.             2 
1135  Dec.              1 

20  10  36 
12  10  24 
35    3  29 
18  10  24 

60 
43 
67 
49 

Burst  leap. 

Slain  accidentally. 

Caen. 

Winchester. 
Reading. 
Feversham. 

The  Saxon  Line  restored. 


Henry 

.     2 

1154  Oct 

25 

34   8  11 

55 

Pontevraalt. 

Richard     . 

.     1 

1189  July 

6 

9    9    0 

43 

Slain  with  an  arrow* 

Fontevrault. 

John 

1199  April 

6 

17  6  13 

50 

Worcester. 

Henry 

.     3 

1216  Oct. 

19 

58  0  28 

65 

Westminster 

Edward    . 

.     1 

1272  Nov. 

16 

34  7  21 

67 

Westminster 

Edward     . 

.     2 

1307  July 

7 

19  6  18 

43 

Deposed  and  mur- 

Gloucester. 

Edward     . 

.     3 

1327  Jan. 

25 

50  4  27 

65 

dered. 

Westminster. 

Richard     . 

.     2 

1377  June 

21 

22  3    8 

33 

Dep.  and  mur. 

Westminster. 

Henry 
Henry 
Henry 


The  Family  of  Lancaster. 


1399  Sept.  29|    13  5  20 

1413  March        20      i  5  1 1 
1422  Aug  31 1   38  6    4 


Canterbury. 

Westminster. 

Wiudsor 


Edward 
Edward 
Richard 


The  Family  of  York. 


1461  March  4 

1483  April  9 

1483  Juue  22 


22  1  5  41 
0  2  13  12 
2  2    0         42 


Smothered. 
I  ,  bittle. 


I  Windsor. 
Tower. 
Leicester 


The  Families  united. 


Henry       .     . 

7 

1485  Aug. 

22 

23  8    0 

52 

Westminster. 

Henry       .     . 

8 

1509  April 

22 

37  9    6 

55 

Windsor. 

Edward     .     . 

6 

1547  Jan. 

28 

6  5    8 

15 

Westminster. 

«t  Mary 

1 .53  July 

6 

5  4  11 

42 

Westminster. 

<&  Elizabeth 

1558  Nov. 

17 

44  4    7 

69 

Westminster. 

House  of  Stuart. 


feme.   ...      1 

1903  March 

24 

22    0    3 

58 

Westminster- 

Charles     .     .     1 

1625  March 

27 

23  10    3 

48 

Beheaded. 

Windsor. 

Cfaarles      .     .     2 

1649  Jan. 

30 

36    0    7 

54 

Westminster. 

James  .     .           2 

1(585  Feb. 

6 

4    0    7 

67 

Abdicated. 

Paris. 

Will,  and  Mary 

IS89  Feb. 

IS 

13    0  23 

32 

Westminster. 

ft,  Anne 

1702  March 

8 

12    4  24 

49 

Westminster. 

House  of  Guelph. 


George 
George 
George 
George 


1|1714  Aug. 

2  1,27  June 

3  1760  Oct. 

4  1820  Jan. 


12  10  10 
33  4  5 
59  3  14 
Crowned  July  19,  1821. 


Hanover. 

Westminster. 

Windsor. 


APPENDIX.  483 


II. 


EMINENT  AND  REMARKABLE  PERSONS  WHO 
HAVE  FLOURISHED  IN  BRITAIN. 

Abercrombt,  sir  Ralph,  killed  in  Egypt,  1801. 

Addison,  Joseph,  born  1672,  died  June  17,  1719.    ' 

Akenside,  Dr.  Mark,  born  1721,  died  June  23,  1770. 

Alban,  St.  the  first  English  martyr,  died  303. 

Anson,  admiral,  died  1762,  aged  62. 

Arkwright,  sir  Richard,  inventor  of  the  spinning  jennies,  died 

August  2,  1792. 
Arne,  Michael,  the  musician,  died  1785. 
Bacon,  Roger,  born  1214,  died  1294. 

■      Francis,  lord  Verulam,  sent  to  the  tower,   1622 ;   died, 

April  9,  1626,  aged  57. 
Becket,  Thomas,  Chancellor  to  Henry  II.  1157 ;  made  archbi- 
shop of  Canterbury,  1162;  murdered  in  the  cathedral  church 

at  Canterbury,  Dec.  29,  1170. 
Berkely,  bishop  of  Cloyne,  died  1753,  aged  73. 
Bernard,  sir  John,  died  1764,  aged  80. 
Blackstone,  Judge,  born  1723,  died  Feb.  14,  1780. 
Blair,  Dr.  Hugh,  died  Dec.  27,  1  00,  aged  83. 
Blake,  admiral,  born  1589,  died  1  i">7. 
Bolingbroke,  lord,  died  1751,  agwi  73. 

Boulton,  Matthew,  the  machinist,  born  1728,  died  Sept.  1809. 
Boyle,  Robert,  the  philosopher,  died  1691,  aged  65. 
Bruce,  Robert,  Scottish  general  and  king,  died  1329. 
Buckingham,  duke  of,  killed  at  Portsmouth  by  Felton,  Aug.  23, 

1628,  aged  35. 
Bunyan,  John,  born  1628,  died  1688. 
Burke,  Edmund,  died  July  8,  1797,  aged  68. 
Burleigh,  lord  Exeter,  1560,  died  1598. 
Burnet,  bishop  of  Sarum,  born  1643,  died  1715. 
Butler,  Samuel,  author  of  Hudibras,  born  1612,  died  1680. 
Camden,  the  historian,  died  Nov.  2,  1623,  aged  72. 
Caxton,  William,  the  first  printer  in  England,  1474,  died  1491, 

aged  70. 
Chaucer,  Geoffry,  born  1328,  died  1409. 
Chicheley,  Henry,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  died  1443. 
Churchill,  Rev.  Charles,  born  1731,  died  1764. 
Clarendon,  Hyde,  earl  of,  born  1612 ;  banished  Dec.  12,  1667  ; 

died  Dec.  7,  1674. 
Clarke,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  born  1675,  died  May  17,  1729. 
Coke,  lord  chief  justice,  born  1549,  died  1634. 
Congreve,  William,  born  1752,  died  1729. 
Cook,  captain  James,  the  navigator,  born  Oct.  27,  1728 ;  killed 

Feb.  14,  1779. 
Cornwallis,  marquis  K.  G.  born  1738,  died  in  India,  1805. 
Cowley,  Abraham,  born  1618,  died  1667. 


484  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Cowper,  William,  poet,  died  1800. 

Cranmer,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  bom  1489,  burnt  at  Oxford, 

March  21,  1556. 
Cromwell,  lord,  beheaded  July  28,  1540. 
Defoe,  Daniel,  political  writer,  died  1731. 
Drake,  sir  Francis,  born  1545 ;  set  sail  on  his  voyage  round  the 

world,  1577 ;  died  Jan.  28, 1595. 
Dryden,  John,  born  August  9,  1613,  died  May  1,  1700. 
Evelyn,  John,  natural  philosopher,  born  1629,  died  1706. 
Fairfax,  sir  Thomas,  born  1644,  died  1671. 
Fielding,  Henry,  English  writer,  born  1707,  died  1754,  aged  47. 
Flamstead,  John,  astronomer,  born  1646,  died  1719. 
Foote,  Samuel,  died  Oct.  21,  1777,  aged  56. 
Fox,  George,  founder  of  the  Quaker^,  died  1681. 
Garrick,  David,  born  at  Hereford,  1716,  died  Jan.  20, 1779. 
Gay,  John,  English  poet,  died  1732. 
Gibbs,  James,  architect,  died  1  /54. 
Glover,  Richard,  English  writer,  born  1712,  died  1785. 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  born  1731,  died  April  4,  1774. 
Gray,  Thomas,  the  poet,  born  1716,  died  July  30,  1771. 
Gresham,  sir  Thomas,  died  1580. 
Hale,  sir  Matthew,  born  1609,  died  Dec.  25,  1676. 
Hampden,  John,  born  1594,  killed  in  battle.  June  24,  1643. 
Holinshed,  the  historian,  died  1580. 
Home,  John,  born  1724,  died  Sept.  4,  1808. 
Hotspur,  Henry  Percy,  killed  July  22,  1403. 
Howard,  Mr.,  the  philanthropist,  born  about  1725,  died  Jan.  20, 

1790. 
Howe,  lord  viscount,  slain  in  America,  July  8,  1758,  aged  34. 
Hume,  David,  philosopher  and  historian,  born  1711,  died  Aug. 

25,  1776. 
Hogarth,  William,  died  1765,  aged  64. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  born  Sept.  18,  1709,  died  Dec.  14,  1784, 

aged  78. 
Jones,  Inigo,  tne  celebrated  architect,  born  1572,  died  1651. 

,  sir  William,  died  in  Bengal,  April  27,  1797,  aged  47. 

Knox,  John,  the  reformer,  born  1505,  died  1572. 

Latimer,  bishop  of  Worcester,  burnt  at  Oxford,  Oct.  1555. 

Leland,  John,  the  antiquarian,  died  1552,  aged  45. 

Lowth,   Dr.   Robert,  bishop  of  London,  learned  writer,  died 

1787. 
Lucius,    the  first  christian  king   of  Britain,  reigned  77  years, 
founded  the  first  church,  in  London,  at  St.  Peter's  Cornhill, 
179. 
Lydgate,  John,  the  historian,  lived  in  1440. 
Macklin,  Mr.  Charles,  the  comedian,  died  July  11,  1797,  aged 

97. 
Maitland,  William,  the  historian,  died  1757. 
Mallet,  David,  dramatic  author,  died  1765. 
Marlborough,  John,  duke  of,  died  June  16,  1722,  aged  72. 
Marvel,  Andrew,  the  patriot,  born  1620,  died  1678. 
Maskelyne,  Neville,  English  astronomer,  died  1772. 


APPENDIX.  485 

Maskelyne,  Rev.  Nevil,  astronomer  royal,  bom  Oct.  6,  1782, 

died  Feb.  9,  1811. 
Monk,  general,  born  1608,  died  January  4,  1669-70. 
Monmouth,  duke  of,  beheaded  1685,  aged  35. 
Moore,  sir  John,  killed  in  the  battle  of  Corunna,  Jan.  16, 1809. 
More,  sir  Thomas,  born  1480,  beheaded  July  6,  1535,  aged  55. 
Mozart,  Wolfang  Amadeus,  musical  composer,  born  Jan.  27, 

1756,  died  Dec.  5,  1792. 
Murphy,  Arthur,  died  June  18,  1805,  aged  77. 
Nelson,  admiral  lord  viscount,  duke  of  Bronte,  killed  in  battle 

Pin  the  glorious  victory  off  Trafalgar,  Oct.  21,  1805,  buried 
at  the  public  expense,  in  St.  Pajil's  cathedral,  Jan.   10, 

1806. 
Newton,  sir  Isaac,  born  Dec.  25,  1642,  died  March  20,  1726—7. 
Northumberland,  Dudley,  beheaded  for  attempting  to  put  lady 

Jane  Grey  on  the  English  throne,  1553. 
Oldcastle,  Sir  John,  hanged  and  burnt  without  Temple-bar,  1418; 

the  first  protestant  martyr. 
Ormond,  duke  of,  impeached  June  21,  1715;  retired  to  France 

August  following ;  died  in  France,  and  was  buried  May  22, 

1749. 
Ossian  flourished  as  a  poet  in  300. 
Palliser,  sir  Hugh,  died  March  19,  1796,  aged  75. 
Paris,  Matthew,  the  historian,  died  1259. 
Partridge,  John,  the  astrologer,  born  1644,  died  1715. 
Perceval,  Spencer,  prime  minister  of  England,  assassinated  May 

11,  1812. 
Pitt,  William,  earl  of  Chatham,  died  May  11,  1778,  aged  70,  and 

buried  at  the  public  expense  in  Westminster  abbey,  June  9, 

following. 
— ,  William,  son  of  the  foregoing,  and  prime  minister  of  Eng- 
land, died  January  23,  1806. 
Plot,  Dr.  Robert,  antiquarian  and  historical  writer,  born  1641. 

died  1696. 
Pomfret,  Rev.  Mr.  the  poet,  died  young,  1709. 
Pope,  Alexander,  the  poet,  died  1744,  aged  55. 
Pretender,  the  old,  born  June  10,  1688,  died  1766. 

,  the  young,  his  son,  born  Nov.  31, 1720,  died  January 

31,  1788,  without  male  issue. 
Prior,  Matthew,  died  Sept.  18,  1721,  aged  56. 
Raleigh,  sir  Waltar,  beheaded  October  29,  1618,  aged  65. 
Randolph,  Thomas,  English  historian,  born  1605,  died  1634. 
Rapin,  de  Thoyras,  English  historian,  died  May  16,  1725,  agei 

64. 
Richardson,  Samuel,  moral  writer,  died  1761,  aged  72. 
Russel,  lord  William,  beheaded  July  21, 1683. 
Reynolds,  sir  Joshua,  died  Feb.  24,  1792,  aged  69. 
Sacheverel,  Rev.  Dr.  silenced,  March  23,  1710,  died  1723. 
Sancroft,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  born  1616;  committed  to  the 

tower,  tried  and  acquitted,  1688 ;  deprived.  1689 ;  died  NoV 

26,  1693,  aged  77. 
Selden,  John,  born  1584,  died  Oct.  30,  1654. 
41* 


486  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Shakspeare,  bom  1564,  died  April  3,  1616. 

Sharp,  Granville,  one  of  the  first  who  set  on  foot  the  inquiry  into 

the  African  slave  trade,  died  April  3,  1616. 
Shenstone,  William,  English  poet  and  miscellaneous  writer,  died 

1763. 
Sheridan,  Richard  Brinsley,  born  Oct.  1751,  died  July  7,  1816. 
Shovel,  sir  Cloudesly,  lost  on  the  rocks  of  Scilly,  Oct.  22, 170IL 

aged  56. 
Sidney,  sir  Philip,  born  1554,  killed  in  battle  Sept.  22,  1586. 
— — ,  Algernon,  beheaded  Dec.  7,  1683. 
Smollet,  Dr.  Tobias,  the  historian,  died  Sept.  17,  1771. 
Spelman,  sir  Henry,  the  antiquarian,  died  1641,  aged  80. 
Spence,  Thomas,  political  economist,  died  Oct.  1814. 
Spencer,  the  poet,  born  1510,  died  1598. 
Steele,  sir  Richard,  died  Sept.  1,  1729,  aged  53. 
Stillingfleet,  bishop  of  Worcester,  died  1699. 
Temple,  sir  William,  died  January,  1699,  aged  69. 
Thomson,  James,  died  Aug.  27,  1748,  aged  71. 
Thurlow,  lord,  died  Sept.  12,  1806,  aged  71. 
Tillotson,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  died  1694,  aged  63. 
Tooke,  John  Home,  born  1736,  died  March  18,  1812. 
Trenchard,  John,  born  1662,  died  1723. 
Tyler,  Wat,  the  rebel,  killed  1381. 
Vernon,  admiral,  died  1757,  aged  73. 
Walker,  the  Rev.  Mr.,  defended  Londonderry,  1689;  slain  at  the 

battle  of  the  Boyne,  1690. 
Wallace,  sir  William,  eminent  Scotch  general,  killed  1304 
Waller,  Edmund,  English  poet,  died  1687,  aged  81. 
Walpole,  sir  Robert,  earl  of  Oxford,  born  1674,  died  1745. 
Warwick,  earl  of,  the  king-maker,  defeated  and  slain  at  the  battle 

ofBarnet,  April  14,  1461. 
Watts,  Dr.  Isaac,  born  1673,  died  1748. 
West,  James,  the  antiquarian,  died  July  2,  1772. 
Whitbread,  Samuel,  died  by  his  own  hand,  July  6,  1815. 
Wickliffe,  opposed  the  pope's  supremacy,  1377  :  died  1384 ;  and 

40  years  after  burnt  for  being  a  heretic. 
Wilkes,  John,  the  patriot,  died  Dec.  26,  1797,  aged  70. 
William,  prince,  son  of  Henry  I.  lost  in  his  passage  from  Nor- 
mandy, 1120. 
Williams,  sir  Charles  Hanbury,  English  historian  and  poet,  died 

1759. 
Wilson,  Arthur,  the  historian,  born  1596,  died  1652. 
Wolfe,  general,  killed  before  Quebec,  Sept.  13,  1769,  aged  33. 
Wolsey,  minister  to  Henry  VIII.  1513,  died  November  18,  1530, 

aged  59. 
Woollet,  William,  the  engraver,  died  May  23,  1785,  aged  50. 
Wycherly,  William,  born  1640,  died  January  1,  1715 — 16. 
Wykeham,  William  of,  eminent  English  prelate,  bishop  of  Win- 
chester, died  1404. 
Young,  Dr.  Edward,  died  1765,  aged  81. 


APPENDIX. 


III. 


487 


BATTLES  IN  ENGLISH  HISTORY. 


•5 


Shropshire,    when    Caractacus 

was  taken  prisoner,  51  after 

Christ, 
mford,  in  Lincolnshire,  the 

first  between  the  Britons  and 

Saxons,  in  449. 
Hellston,  in  Cornwall,    and   in 

the  Isle  of  Shepey,  between 

Egbert  and  the  Danes,  834. 
The  Isle  of  Thanet,  where  the 

English  were  defeated,    and 

the  Danes  settled,  854. 
Assenden,    where    the    Danes 

were  defeated  by  Alfred  and 

Ethelred,  871. 
Wilton,  where  the  English  were 

defeated  by  the  Danes,  872. 
Bury,  between  Edward  the  El- 
der, and  his  cousin  Ethelwald, 

905. 
Maiden,   between  Edward   and 

the  Danes,  918. 
Stamford,  between  Edward,  the 

Danes,  and  Scots,  923. 
Widendane,  between  Athelstan, 

the  Irish,  and  Scots,  938. 
Ashden,    between   Canute    and 

Edmund,  1016. 
Battle-bridge,    between  Harold 

II.  and  liarfinger,  Sept.  25, 

1066. 
Hastings,   where    king    Harold 

was  slain,  Oct.  14,  1066. 
Alnwick,  1092. 
Northallerton,  Aug.  22,  1138. 
Alnwick,  1174. 
Ascalon,  Sept.  16,  1191. 
Lincoln,  May  19,  1217. 
Lewes,  May  14,  1264. 
Evesham,  Aug.  5,  1265. 
Dunbar,  April  27,  1296. 
Falkirk,  July  22,  1298. 
Bannockburn,  June  25,  1314 

when  the  English  were  defeat 
ed. 


Halidon-hill,  near  Berwick, 
when  20,200  of  the  Scots  were 
slain,  July  29,  1333. 

Cressy,  Aug.  26,  1346. 

Durham,  wnen  David  king  of 
Scotland  was  taken  prisoner, 
Oct.  17,  1346. 

Nevil's  Cross,  in  Durham,  1347. 

Poictiers,  when  the  king  of 
France  and  his  son  were  ta- 
ken prisoners,  Sept.  19,  1356. 

Otterborn,  between  Hotspur  and 
earl  Douglas,  July  81,  1388. 

Shrewsbury,  July  22,  1403. 

Monmouth,  March  11,  and  May 
11,  1405. 

Agincourt,  Oct.  25,  1415. 

Beauge,  where  the  duke  of  Cla- 
rence and  1500  English  were 
killed,  April  3,  1421. 

Patay,  under  Joan  of  Are,  June 
10, 1429. 

St.  Alban's,  May  22,  1455. 

Bloreheath,  Sept.  22,  1459. 

Northampton,  July  19,  1460. 

Wakefield,  Dec.  31,  1460. 

Towton,  March  29,  1461. 

St.  Alban's,  1461. 

Mortimer's  Cross,  1461. 

Hexham,  May  15, 1463. 

Banbury,  July  26,  1469. 

Stamford,  March  13,  1470. 

Bamet,  April  14,  1471. 

Tewkesbury,  May  4, 1471. 

Bosworth,  Aug.  22,  1485. 

Stoke,  June  6,  1487. 

Blackheath,  June  22, 1497. 

Flodden,  Sept.  9,  1513,  when 
James  IV.  was  killed. 

Solway,  Nov.  24,  1542. 

Hopton-heath,  March  19,  1642. 

Worcester,  Sept.  23,  1642. 

Edgehill,  Oct.  23,  1642. 

Brentford,  in  1642. 

Barham-moor,  March  29,  1643. 


I 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


Lansdown,  July  5,  1643. 
Round -away-down,     July    13, 

1643. 
Newbury,  Sept.  20,  1643. 
Alresford,  March  29,  1644. 
Cropedy-bridge,  June  6,  1644. 
Marston-moor,  July  2,  1644. 
Newark,  in  1644. 
Newbury,  Oct.  27,  1644. 
Naseby,  June,  1645. 
Alford,  July  2,  1645. 
Kingston,  in  Surrey,  1647. 
Worcester,  Sept.  3, 1651. 
Bothwell-bridge,  June  22,  1651. 
Sedgemoor,  Aug.  6,  1685. 
Boyne,  in  Ireland,  July  1, 1690. 
Fleurus,  July  12,  1690. 
Blenheim,  Aug.  2,  1704. 
Tirlemont,  1705. 
Ramilies,  Whitsunday,  1706. 
Almanza,  in  Spain,  1707. 
Oudendard,  June  30,  1708. 
Malplaquet,  Sept.  11,  1709. 
Almanza,  July  16,  1710. 
Denain,  in  1712. 
Preston,  Nov.  12,  1715. 
Dumblain,  Nov.  13,  1715. 
Dettingen,  June  15,  1743. 
Fontenoy,  April  30,  1745. 
Preston-Pans,  Sept.  21,  1745. 
Falkirk,  Jan.  17, 1746. 
Roucoux,  April  12,  1746. 
Culloden,  April  17,  1746. 
Fort  du  Quesne,  July  9,  1755. 
Lake  St.  George,  Sept.  8,  1755. 
Calcutta,  June,    1756,    and    in 

1759. 
Plassey,  Feb.  5, 1757. 
Minden,  Aug.  1759. 
Niagara,  July  24,  1759. 
Quebec,  Sept.  15, 1759. 
Lexington,  near  Boston,  April 

19,  1775. 
Bunker's-hill,  June  27,  1775. 
Long-Island,  Aug.  27,  1776. 
White  Plains,  Nov.  30,  1776. 
Brandy  wine    creek,    Sept.    13, 

1777. 
Saratoga,  Oct.  7,  1777. 
Germantown,  Oct.  14,  1777. 
Rhode-Island;  Oct.  14,  1778. 
Camden,  Au£,  16,  1780. 


Guildford,  March  16,  1781. 

York-Town,  Oct.  29,  1781. 

Seringapatam,  1791. 

Tournay,  May  8,  1793. 

Valenciennes,  May  23,  1793. 

Cambray,  Aug.  9,  1793. 

Lincelles,  Aug.  18,  1793. 

Dunkirk,  Sept.  7,  1793. 

Quesnoy,  Sept.  7,  1793. 

Toulon,  Oct.  1,  1793. 

Cateau,  March  28,  1794. 

Landrecy,  April  24,  1794. 

Cateau,  April  26,  1794. 

Ostend,  May  5, 1794. 

Tournay,  May  18,  1794. 

Maestricht,  Sept.  18,  1794. 

Nimeguen,  Nov.  4,  1794. 

Quiberon,  July  21,  1795. 

Kilkullen.  Ireland,  May  22, 
1798. 

Naas,  May  23, 1798,  at  Stratford- 
upon-Slaney;  at  Backestown, 
May  25;  at  Dunleven,  May 
25;  at  Taragh,  May  26;  at 
Carlow,  May  27;  at  Monas- 
terevan,  the  same  day ;  at  Kil- 
dare,  May  28;  at  Ballacanoe 
and  at  Newtonbury,  June  1  ; 
at  New-Ross,  June  5 ;  at  An- 
trim the  same  day;  at  Ack- 
low,  June  9 ;  at  Ballynahinch, 
June  13 ;  at  Ovidstown,  June 
19;  at  Ballynarush,  June  20. 
sringapatam,  Mav  4,  1792. 

Maida,  July  6,  180fr 

Vimiera,  Aug.  21,  1808. 

Corunna,  Jan.  16,  1809. 

Oporto,  May  11,  1809. 

Talavera  de  la  Reyna,  July  27, 
1809. 

Buzaco,  Sept.  27, 1810. 

Barossa,  March  5,  1811. 

Albuera,  May  16,  1811. 

Buenos  Ayres  and  Monte  Video, 
May  18,  1811. 

Ciudad  Rodrigo,  Sept.  25, 1811. 

Salamanca,  July  22,  1812. 

Fort  George,  on  the  Niagara, 
May  27,  1813. 

Burlington  Heights,  June  $, 
1813. 

Vittoria,  June  21,  1813. 


APPENDIX 


489 


Pyrenees,  July  28,  1813. 
St.  Jean  de  Luz,  Nov.  10, 1813. 
Black-rock,  Dec.  30, 1813. 
Toulouse,  April  10,  1814. 

SEA 


Chippeway,  July  5,  1814. 
Baltimore,  Sept.  12,  1814. 
Ligny,  June  16,  1815. 
"aterloo,  June  18, 1815. 


Log 
Wa 


IV. 


SEA-FIGHTS,  since  the  Spanish  Armada. 


Between  the  English  fleet  and 
the  Spanish  armada,  1588. 

In  the  Downs,  with  the  Dutch, 
June  16, 1652. 

Again,  bept.  28,  Oct.  28,  Nov. 
29,  1652. 

Off  Portsmouth,  when  admiral 
Blake  took  11  Dutch  men  of 
war,  and  30  merchant  ships, 
Feb.  10,  1653. 

Off  the  North  Foreland,  when 
the  Dutch  lost  20  men  of  war 
June,  2,  1653. 

On  the  coast  of  Holland,  when 
they  lost  30  men  of  war,  and 
admiral  Tromp  was  killed,  Ju- 
ly 29,  1653. 

At  the  Canaries,  when  Blake 
destroyed  the  galleons,  April. 
1657. 

Off  Harwich,  when  18  capital 
Dutch  ships  were  taken,  and 
14  destroyed,  June  3,  1665 

The  earl  of  Sandwich  took  12 
men  of  war  and  2  East- India 
ships,  Sept.  4,  1665. 

Again,  when  the  English  lost 
nine  and  the  Dutch  15  ships, 
June  4,  1666. 

At  Southwold-bay,  when  the 
earl  of  Sandwich  was  blown 
up,  and  the  Dutch  defeated  by 
the  Duke  of  York,  May  28, 
1672. 

Off  Beachy-head,  when  the  En- 
glish and  Dutch  were  defeated 
by  the  French,  June  30, 1690. 

Off  La  Hogue,  when  the  French 
fleet  was  entirely  defeated,  and 


21  large  men  of  war  destroyed, 
May  19,  1692. 

The  Vigo  fleet  taken  by  the 
English  and  Dutch,  Oct.  12, 
1702. 

Between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish, Aug.  24,  1704. 

At  Gibraltar,  when  the  French 
lost  5  men  of  war,  Nov.  5, 
1704. 

French  fleet  destroyed  by  sir 
George  Byng,  July  31,  1718. 

Off  Toulon,  Feb.  9,  1744. 

Off  Cape  Finisterre,  when  the 
French  fleet  was  taken  by  ad- 
miral Anson,  May  3,  1747. 

Offllshant,  when  admiral  Hawke 
took  seven  men  of  war  of  the 
French,  Oct.  14,  1747. 

Off  Belleisle,  when  he  took  14 
sail  of  victuallers,  July  145 
1756. 

French  beaten  off  Cape  Lagos, 
by  admiral  Boscawen,  Aug. 
18,  1759. 

Off  Quiberon  Bay,  when  Hawke 
defeated  the  French,  Nov.  20, 
1752. 

Off  Tenant,  a  drawn  battle,  be- 
tween Keppel  and  Dorvilliers, 
July  17,  1778. 

Near  Cape  St.  Vincent,  be- 
tween admiral  Rodney  and  ad- 
miral don  Lagara,  when  the 
latter  was  defeated  and  taken 
prisoner,  Jan.  8,  1780. 

Near  Cadiz,  when  admiral  Rod- 
ney defeated  the  Spaniards, 
Jan.  16,  1780. 


490 


Dogger  Bank,  between  admiral 
Parker   and  the  Dutch,   Au 
gust  5, 1781. 

When  admiral  Rodney  defeated 
the  French  going  to  attack 
Jamaica,  and  tooK  five  ships 
of  the  line,  and  admiral  count 
de  Grasse,  April  12,  1782. 

The  same  day  admiral  Hughes 
destroyed  the  fleet  of  France 
under  admiral  SufTrein,  in  the 
East  Indies. 

Lord  Howe  totally  defeated  the 
French  fleet,  took  six  ships  of 
war,  and  sunk  several,  June  1> 
1794. 

The  French  fleet  defeated,  and 
two  ships  of  war  taken,  by 
admiral  Hotham,  March  14, 
1795. 

The  French  fleet  defeated  by 
lord  Bridport,  June  25,  1795, 
and  three  ships  of  war  taken, 
near  L' Orient. 

The  Dutch  fleet  under  admiral 
Lucas,  in  Saldanna  Bay,  Af- 
rica, consisting  of  five  men  of 
war  and  several  frigates,  sur-j 
rendered  Aug.  19,  1796. 

The  Spanish  fleet  defeated  byj 
sir  J.  Jarvis,  and  four  line  of 
battle  ships  taken,  Feb.  14, 
1797. 

The  Dutch  fleet  was  defeated  by 
admiral  Duncan,  on  the  coast 
of  Holland,  where  their  two 
admirals  and  15  ships  of  war 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


were  taken  or  destroyed,  Oct. 
11,  1797. 

The  French  fleet  of  17  ships  of 
war,  totally  defeated,  and  9  of 
them  taken,  by  sir  Horatio 
Nelson,  Aug.  1,  1798,  near 
the  Nile,  in  Egypt. 

The  French,  off  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land, consisting  of  9  ships,  b 


I 


sir  J.  B.   Warren,   Oct. 
1783,  when  he  took  five 

The  Dutch  fleet  in  the  Texel 
surrendered  to  admiral  Mit- 
chell, on  his  taking  the  Held- 
er,  Aug.  29,  1799. 

The  Danish  fleet,  of  28  sail,  ta- 
ken or  destroyed  by  lord  Nel- 
son off  Copenhagen,  April  2, 
1801. 

Between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish, in  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar : 
Hannibal,  of  74  guns,  lost, 
July  5,  1801: 

Sound,  between  Denmark  and 
Sweden,  passed  by  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  when  Copenhagen 
was  bombarded,  April 2, 1801. 

French  and  Spanish  fleets  total- 
ly defeated  off  Cape  Trafal- 
gar, lord  Nelson  killed  in  the 
action,  Oct.  21,  1805. 

French  fleet  taken  by  sir  R. 
Strachan,  Nov.  4, 1805. 

French  fleet  defeated  in  the 
West  Indies,  bv  sir  T.  Duck- 
worth, Feb.  6, 1806. 


DATES  OF  IMPROVEMENTS  AND  INVENTIONS. 

Air-balloons  introduced  into  England,  and  Mr.  Lunardi  as- 
cended from  Moorfields,  Sept.  15,  1784;  Blanchard  and  Dr. 
Jefferies  went  from  Dover  to  Calais,  Jan.  7, 1785. 

Apricots  first  planted  in  England,  1540. 

Archery  introduced  into  England,  before  440. 

Artichokes  first  planted  in  England,  1487. 

Asparagus  first  produced  in  England,  1608. 

Baize  manufacture  first  introduced  into  England  at  Colchester 
1608. 


APPENDIX.  491 

Beer.-— Ale  invented,  1404,  B.  C ;  ale-Jaooths  setup  in  England, 
728,  and  laws  passed  for  their  regulation. — Beer  first  introduced 
into  England,  1492;  in  Scotland,  as  early  as  1482.  By  the 
statute  of  James  I.  one  full  quart  of  the  best  beer  or  ale  was  to 
be  sold  for  one  penny,  and  two  quarts  of  small  beer  for  one 
penny.  In  1822  the  duties  on  beer  were  £2,786,319,  and  on 
malt,  £5,013,697. 

Bellsanvented  by  Paulinus,  bishop  of  Nola,  in  Campagnia,  about 
400.  The  first  tuneable  set  in  England  were  hung  up  in 
Croyland  abbey,  in  Lincolnshire,  960 :  baptised  in  churches, 
1030. 

Bible  first  translated  into  the  Saxon  language,  939;  into  the 
English  language,  by  Tindal  and  Coverdale,  1534 ;  first  trans- 
lation by  the  king's  authority,  1536.      ___/. 

Blankets  first  made  in  England,  1340. 

Books ;  a  very  large  estate  given  for  one  on  cosmography,  by 
king  Alfred  ;  were  sold  from  £10  to  £30  a  piece,  about  l40G\ 

Bows  and  arrows  introduced,  1066. 

Bread  first  made  with  yeast  about  1650.  In  the  year  1754  the 
quartern  loaf  was  sold  for  4d. ;  three  years  afterwards  in  the 
year  1757,  it  rose  to  lOd.  and  in  March,  1800,  to  Is.  5d.,  when 
new  bread  was  forbidden,  under  the  penalty  of  5s.  per  loaf,  if 
the  baker  sold  it  until  24  hours  old. 

Bridge,  the  first  sto  e  one,  in  England,  at  Bow,  near  Stratford, 
1*7.  A  '     . 

Buckles  invented  about  1680.    s*  n*v    .W"a-«  / 

Calicos  first  made  in  Lancashire,  in  1772. 

Candles,  tallow,  so  great  a  luxury,  that  splinters  of  wood  were 
used  for  lights ;  first  began  to  be  used,  1290.  No  idea  of  wax 
candles,  1300. 

Cannon  invented,  1330 ;  first  used  by  the  English,  1346 ;  first  used 
in  England,  1445 ;  first  made  of  iron  in  England,  1547 ;  of 
brass,  1635. 

Cauliflowers  planted  in  England,  1703.    , 

Celery  first  introduced  in  1704. 

Chairs,  sedan,  first  used  in  London,  1634. 

Cherry-trees  first  planted  in  Britain,  100  before  Christ ;  brought 
from  Flanders  and  planted  in  Kent,  1540. 

Chimneys  first  introduced  into  buildings  in  England,  1200,  only 
in  the  kitchen,  or  large  hall ;  smoky,  where  the  family  sat 
round  a  large  stove,  the  funnel  of  which  passed  through  the 
ceiling,  1300. 

China  made  in  England,  at  Chelsea,  in  1752;  at  Bow,  in  1758; 
and  in  several  parts  of  England  in  1760 ;  by  Mr.  Wedgwood* 

Chocolate  introduced  into  Europe,  from  Mexico,  in  1520. 
Cloth,  coarse  woolen,  introduced  into  England,  1191 ;  first  made 

at  Kendal,  1390;  medleys  first  made,  1614. 
Coaches  first  used  in  England,  )  '80 ;  an  act  passed  to  prevent 

men  riding  in  coaches,  as  effeminate,  in  loOl ;  began  to  be 

common  in  London,  1605. 
Coals  discovered  near  Newcastle,  1234 ;  first  dug  at  Newcastle 


492  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

by  a  charter  granted  the  town  by  Henry  III.;  first  used,  1280; 
diers,  brewers,  &c.  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  began  to  use 
sea-coal  for  fire,  in  1350,  and  he  published  a  proclamation 
against  it,  1398,  as  a  public  nuisance.  Imported  from  New- 
castle to  London  in  1350 ;  in  general  use  in  London,  1400. 

Coffee  first  brought  into  England,  in  1641. 

Coffee-trees  were  conveyed  from  Mocha  to  Holland  in  1616; 
and  carried  to  the  West  Indies  in  the  year  1726 ;  first  cultiva- 
ted at  Surinam  by  the  Dutch,  1718 ;  its  culture  encouraged  in 
the  plantations,  1732. 

Coin  first  made  round  in  England,  in  1101 ;  silver  halfpence  and 
farthings  were  coined  in  the  reign  of  John,  and  pence  the 
largest  current  coin ;  gold  first  coined  in  England,  1087 ; 
Copper  money  used  only  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  1399 ;  gold 
coined  in  England,  1345 ;  groats  and  half-groats  the  largest 
silver  coin  in  England,  1531 ;  in  1347,  a  pound  of  silver  was 
coined  into  22  shillings,  and  in  1352,  a  pound  was  coined  into 
25  shillings ;  in  1414  they  were  increased  to  thirty  shillings  ; 
and  in  1500,  a  pound  of  silver  was  coined  into  40  shillings.  In 
1530  they  were  extended  to  62,  which  is  the  same  now;  the 
money  iu  Scotland,  till  now  the  same  as  in  England,  began  to 
be  debased,  1354 ;  gold  first  coined  in  Venice,  1346 ;  shillings 
first  coined  in  England,  1068 ;  crowns  and  half-crowns  first 
coined,  1551 ;  copper  money  introduced  into  France  by  Hen- 
ry III.  1580  the  first  legal  copper  coin  introduced,  which  put 
an  end  to  private  leaaen  tokens,  universally  practised,  espe- 
cially in  London,  1609;  copper  money  introduced  into  Eng- 
land by  James  I.  162C ;  milling  coin  introduced,  1662 ;  half- 
?ence  and  farthings  first  coined  by  government,  Aug.  16, 
672 ;  guineas  were  first  coined,  1673 ;  silver  coinage,  1696 ; 
broad  pieces  of  gold  called  in  by  government,  and  coined  into 
guineas,  1732;  five-shillings  and  three-penny  pieces  in  gold 
were  issued  in  1716  and  1761.  Sovereigns  were  first  coined  in 
1820. 

Cow-pox,  inoculation  by,  as  a  security  against  small-pox,  intro- 
duced by  Dr.  Jenner,  1800. 

Creed,  Lord's  prayer,  and  ten  commandments,  first  translated  into 
the  Saxon  tongue,  746. 

Currants  first  planted  in  England,  1533. 

Cider,  called  wine,  made  in  England  1284. 

Distaff  spinning  first  introduced  into  England,  1505. 

England,  so  named  by  Egbert,  829 ;  first  divided  into  counties, 
tithings,  and  hundreds,  890 ;  the  first  geographical  map  of  it 
1520. 

Fairs  and  markets  first  instituted  in  England  by  Alfred  about  886. 
The  first  fairs  took  their  rise  from  wakes ;  when  the  number 
of  people  then  assembled  brought  together  a  variety  of  tra- 
ders annually  on  these  days.  From  these  holidays  they  were 
called  feria,  or  fairs. 

Fans,  muffs,  masks,  and  false  hair,  brought  into  England  from 
France,  1572. 

Figures  in  arithmetic  introduced  into  England,  in  1454. 


APPENDIX. 

Fruits  and  flowers,  sundry  sorts  before  unknown,  brought  into 
England  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VII.  and  VIII.  from  about 
1500  to  1578,  as  the  musk  and  damask  roses,  and  tulips;  seve- 
ral sorts  of  plum-trees  and  currant-plants.  i 

Gardening  introduced  into  England  from  the  Netherlands,  from 
whence  vegetables  were  imported,  till  1509;  musk  melons 
and  apricots  cultivated  in  England;  the  pale  gooseberry,  with 
salads,  garden-roots,  cabbages,  &c.  brought  from  Flanders, 
and  hops  from  Artois,  1520;  the  damask  rose  brought  here  by 
Dr.  Linacre,  physician  to  Henry  VIII.  ;  pippins  brought  to 
England  by  Leonard  Mascal,  of  rlumsteaa,  in  Sussex,  1525; 
currants,  or  Corinthian  grapes,  first  planted  in  England,  1555, 
brought  from  the  Isle  of  Zant,  belonging  to  Venice  ;  the  musk- 
rose,  and  several  sorts  of  plums,  from  Italy,  by  lord  Crom- 
well ;  apricots  brought  here  by  Henry  VIII's  gardener ;  ta- 
marisk plant  from  Germany,  by  archbishop  Grindal ;  at  and 
about  Norwich  the  Flemings  first  planted  flowers  unknown  in 
England,  as  gilly  flowers,  carnations,  the  Provence  rose,  &c. 
1567;  woad,  originally  from  Tho.iouse,  in  France;  tulip  roots 
first  Drought  into  England,  from  Vienna.  1578;  also  beans, 
peas,  and  salads,  now  in  common  use,  1660.  » 

Gas,  use  of,  introduced  in  London,  for  lighting  streets,  1814. 

Glass  introduced  into  England  by  Benedict,  a  monk,  674;  glass- 
windows  began  to  be  used  in  private  houses  in  England,  1180; 
glass  first  made  in  England  into  bottles  and  vessels,  1557;  the 
first  plate  glass  for  looking-glasses  and  coach  windows  made 
at  Lambeth,  1673  ;  in  Lancashire,  1773 ;  window-glass  first 
made  in  England,  1557. 

Grapes  brought  to  England,  and  planted  first  in  1552. 

Gunpowder  first  made  in  England,  1418. 

Hats  first  made  in  London,  1510. 

Hemp  and  flax  first  planted  in  England,  1533. 

Heraldry  had  its  rise,  1100. 

Hops,  first  used  in  malt  liquors  in  England,  1525. 

Horse-shoes  introduced  into  general  use  in  800;  first  made  rf 
iron,  481. 

Inoculation  first  tried  on  criminals,  1721. 

Iron  first  cast  in  England,  1544. 

Knives  first  made  in  England,  1563. 

Lamp  for  preventing  explosion  by  fire-damp  in  coal-mines,  in- 
vented in  1815. 

Lanterns  invented  by  king  Alfred,  890. 

Leaden  pipes  for  conveying  water  invented,  1236. 

Life-boats  invented,  1802. 

Linen  first  made  in  England,  1253.     Table  linen  very 
England.  1886. 

Lithograpnic  printing  orougnt  into  England,  1801. 

Magic  lantern  invented  bv  Roger  Bacon,  1252. 

Magnifying  glasses  inve«   ed  by  Roger  Bacon,  1S2 

Mulberry  trees  first  planted  in  England,  16lHJ. 

Muslins  first  manufaotuied  in  England,  in  178Ii 

Navigable  canal,  the  first  in  England,  1134. 
42 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 

Navt  of  England,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  was 
only  28  vessels,  none  larger  than  frigates.  James  I.  increased 
10  ships  of  1400  tons,  of  64  guns,  the  largest  then  ever  built. 
The  list  of  the  royal  navy  of  England  was,  in  the  years  1608 
and  1817. 

King's  ships  in  ordinary 176      370 

"  in  commission      -     -     -    -     -    627       124 

— — — —  building  at  different  places  -    -      (j6        36 

Total,       ~869      530 

Needles  first  made  in  England,  1545. 

Newspapers. — First  pjoUsrt* 1  is  England,  by  order  of  queen 
Elizabeth,  and  was  entitled  the  English  Mercury,  one  of  which 
is  remaining  in  the  British  Museum,  dated  July  28,  1588. 

A  private  newspaper,  called  the  Weekly  Courant,  was  printed  in 
London,  in  1622. 

A  newspaper  was  printed  by  Robert  Barker,  at  Newcastle,  in 
1639.  The  Gazette  was  first  published  at  Oxford,  Aug.  22, 
1642. 

After  the  revolution,  the  first  daily  paper  was  called  the  Orange 
Intelligencer,  and  from  that  to  1662,  there  were  26  newspapers. 

tn  1709,  there  were  18  weekly  and  one  daily  paper,  the  London 
Courant. 

In  1795,  there  were  38  published  in  London,  72  in  the  country, 
13  in  Scotland,  and  35  in  Ireland;  in  all,  158  papers. 

In  1809,  there  were  63  published  in  London,  93  in  the  country, 
24  in  Scotland,  anHl37  in  Ireland;  making  a  total  of  217  news- 
papers in  the  United  Kingdom. 

New-style  introduced  into  England,  1752. 

Paper,  the  manufacture  of,  introduced  into  England  at  Dartford, 
in  Kent,  1588 ;  scarcely  any  but  brown  paper  made  in  England 
till  1690 ;  white  paper  first  made  in  England,  1690. 

Parish  registers  first  introduced  by  lord  Cromwell's  order,  1538. 

Park,  the  first  in  England,  made  by  Henry  I.  at  Woodstock,  1 123. 

Penny-post  set  up  in  London  and  suburbs,  by  one  Murray,  an 
upholsterer,  1681. 

Pins  were  first  used  in  England  by  Catharine  Howard,  queen  of 
Henry  VIII. 

Port-holes  in  ships  of  war  introduced,  1545. 

Posts,  regular,  established  between  London  and  most  towns  of 
England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  &c.  1635. 

Post-horses  and  stages  established,  1483. 

Post-offices  first  established  in  England,  1581 ;  and  made  general 
in  England,  1656 ;  and,  m  Scotland,  1695.  Increased  as  fol- 
lows : 


1644 

it  yielded 

£5,000 

1764  it  yielded     £432,048 

1664 

i. 

21,900 

1791 481 ,880 

1697 

■ 

90,505 

1807         1,670.423 

1714 

im     'in. 

145,227 

1815         2,349,519 

1744 



235,495 

1822         1,958,806 

The  first  mail  conveyed  bv  stage-coaches  began  Aug.  2,  1785. 

Potatoes  first  brought  to  England  from  America,  by  Hawkins,  in 

1563;  introduced  into  Ireland  by  sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  1586. 


APPENDIX.  405 

Printing  brought  into  England  by  William  Caxton,  a  mercer  of 
London,  1471,  who  had  a  press  in  Westminster  abbey  till  1494. 

Roads  in  England  first  repaired  by  act  of  Parliament,  1524. 

Sail-cloth  first  made  in  England,  1590. 

Saltpetre  first  made  in  England,  1625. 

Scenes  first  introduced  into  theatres,  1533. 

Shillings  first  coined  in  England,  1505. 

Ship. — The  first  double-decked  one  built  in  England,  was  of 
1000  tons  burden,  by  order  of  Henry  VII.  1509;  it  was  call- 
ed the  Great  Harry,  and  cost  £14,000 ;  before  this,  24  gun 
ships  were  the  largest  in  our  navy,  and  these  had  no  port-holes, 
the  guns  being  on  the  upper  decks  only. 

Shoes,  of  the  present  fashion,  first  worn  in  England,  1633. 

Side-saddles  first  used  in  England,  1330. 

Silk  manufactured  in  England,  1604.  First  worn  by  the  Eng- 
lish clergy,  1534. — Broad-silk  manufacture  from  raw  silk  in- 
troduced into  England,  1620. — Lombe's  famous  silk-throwing 
machine  erected  at  Derby,  1719. 

Soap  first  made  at  London  and  Bristol,  1524. 

Steam-boat  established  between  Norwich  and  Yarmouth,  Nov. 
1813. — Steam-boat  capable  of  conveying  3000  persons,  com- 
menced.its  passage  between  Limehouse  and  Gravesend,  Feb. 
1815. 

Stereotype  printing  invented  by  William  Ged,  a  goldsmith  of 
Edinburgh,  1735. 

Stirups  first  used  in  the  sixth  century. 

Stone  buildings  first  introduced  into  England,  674. 

Sunday  Schools  first  established  in  Yorkshire,  1784 :  became 
general  in  England  and  Scotland,  in  1789. 

Tea,  coffee,  and  chocolate,  first  mentioned  in  the  statute  books, 
1660. 

Thread  first  made  at  Paisley,  in  1722. 

Tiles  first  used  in  England,  1246. 

Tobacco  first  brought  into  England,  1583. 

Towers,  high,  first  erected  to  churches,  in  1000. 

Turkeys  came  into  England,  1523. 

Watches  first  brought  to  England  from  Germany,  1577* 

Water  first  conveyed  to  London,  by  leaden  pipes,  1237. 

Weavers,  two,  from  Brabant,  settled  at  York,  1331. 

Weavers,  dyers,  cloth-drapers,  linen-makers,  sdk-throwers,  &c. 
Flemish,  settled  at  Canterbury,  Norwich,  Sandwich,  Colches- 
ter, Maidstone,  Southampton,  &c.  on  account  of  the  duke  of 
Alva's  persecution,  1567. 

Weights  and  measures  fixed  to  a  standard  in  England  in  1257. 

Wine  first  made  in  England,  1140. 

Woolen-cloth  first  made  in  England  in  1331 ;  medley  cloths  first 
made,  Ml  4  ;  first  dyed  and  dressed  in  England,  in  J 61 1. 

Workers,  cloth,  70  families  of,  from  the  Netherlands,  settled  in 
England,  by  Edward  Ill's  invitation,  1330. 


496 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 


VI. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  SETTLING  OF  BRITISH 
COLONIES. 


America,  North,  first  discover- 
ed by  Sebastian  Cabot,  1497 ; 
settled,  in  (619. 

Anguilla  in  the  Carribees,  first 
planted,  1650. 

Antigua'^ettled,  1682. 

Baffin's  Bay  discovered,  1622. 

Bahama  isles  taken  possession 
of,  1718.  % 

Barbadoes  discovered  and  plant- 
ed, 1614. 

Barbuda  planted,  1628. 

Bengal  conquered,>1758. 

Bermuda  isles  settled,  1612. 

Boston,  in  New- England,  built, 
1630. 

Botany  Bay  settlement,  1787. 

Caledonia,  in  America,  settled, 
1699. 

Canada  taken  by  England,  1759. 

Cape  Breton  taken  and  kept, 
1758. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  taken,  1798. 

Carolina  planted,  1629. 

Ceylon  taken,  1804. 


Christopher's,  St.  settled,  1626 

Georgia  erected,  1739. 

Heligoland  taken,  1808. 

Helena,  St.  settled,  1651. 

Hudson's  Bay  discovered,  1607. 

Jamaica  conquered,  1656. 

Maryland  province  planted, 
1633.  \ 

Montserrat  planted  by  England, 
1632. 

Nevis  planted  by  England,  1628. 

New- England  planted,  1620. 

Newfoundland  discovered,  1497, 
settled,  1614. 

New- Jersey,  in  America,  plant- 
ed, 1637. 

New- York  settled,  1664. 

Nova  Scotia  settled,  1622. 

Pennsylvania  charta  for  plant- 
ing, 1680. 

Sierra  Leone  coast  settled,  1790. 

Surinam  planted  by  England, 
1640. 

Tobago  conquered,  1781. 

Virginia,  settlement  of,  1636. 


\ 


• 


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